Chapter 407: Breaking the Deadlock with Force

"Your Majesty."

Wen Ren Zheng walked into the study and bowed to the Emperor.

"Greetings, Grand Marshal."

Li Fei stood up and bowed to Wen Ren Zheng.

This was his first time seeing this "God of War" at such close range; he was tall and broad, with deep-set features and brows like blades.

Li Fei's appearance often made people feel he was full of upright energy, looking like a righteous person at first glance.

But compared to Wen Ren Zheng, Li Fei's "upright energy" seemed somewhat lacking.

Anyone who saw Wen Ren Zheng for the first time would feel that he was absolutely a standard soldier:

Resolute! Upright! Valiant!

Wen Ren Zheng stood there like a towering sacred mountain, reaching straight to the heavens.

This "God of War" was also regarded as the "Wall of the Empire"; as long as he was not defeated, the Great Lan Dynasty would not be defeated!

"No need for formalities, sit."

The Emperor's attitude toward Wen Ren Zheng appeared much more casual.

Although the Emperor's uncle, Qin Qin Mingli, had once sought martial arts guidance from Wen Ren Zheng, regarding him as a "half-master," in reality, Wen Ren Zheng was younger than Qin Qin Mingli.

He and the Emperor were the same age; he had been the Emperor's study companion in childhood, and the two had grown up together.

Although sitting on that dragon chair destined one to be a lonely man, if one were to ask who was the most special person in the current Son of Heaven's heart, it was certainly Wen Ren Zheng.

The Emperor regarded him as his most trusted confidant and also as half a friend.

"Wen Ren, I called you here to have you take a look at Li Fei."

The Emperor did not hide anything, speaking directly to Wen Ren Zheng, then signaling for Li Fei to inform the other party of his situation.

Thus, Li Fei repeated what he had previously told the Emperor.

Wen Ren Zheng listened expressionlessly. He first looked at the Emperor, who nodded, and then a pale golden light enveloped Li Fei.

In an instant, the sounds of thousands of troops slaughtering each other, the clashing of countless weapons, and the sound of limbs being severed rang in Li Fei's ears.

It was as if he were instantly placed on a battlefield of hundreds of thousands, with the intense stench of blood rushing toward him!

But soon, all of this vanished like a hallucination.

Li Fei felt no further abnormalities.

A few minutes later, the pale golden light vanished, and Wen Ren Zheng withdrew his Martial Dao Domain.

He pondered for a moment and said to the Emperor:

"Your Majesty, I cannot solve this matter either."

The Emperor was startled, frowning slightly: "Even you cannot solve it?"

Wen Ren Zheng explained with a serious expression: "Going into battle to kill the enemy is my strength; curing illnesses and saving people is not something I am capable of."

After speaking, he glanced at Li Fei: "If the Marquis of Jing'an is willing to discard his current cultivation and start over, I can take action to help him destroy his Dao foundation, ensuring as much as possible that his roots are not damaged."

"Start over?"

The Emperor shook his head.

He did not know that Li Fei possessed the Blood Soul Bead, so he did not feel that Li Fei would be completely unaffected if he destroyed his Dao foundation to start over.

Li Fei was currently the greatest Dao Foundation realm cultivator in history; if he started over, it was possible he would be far inferior to his current self.

Although Li Fei was still young and had time to slowly start over, the Emperor might not have that much time to wait for another peerless talent to grow up.

"Let's not rush the matter of starting over. Wen Ren, thank you for the trouble of making this trip."

The Emperor said to Wen Ren Zheng.

Wen Ren Zheng stood up and bowed to the Emperor: "I take my leave."

Li Fei also stood up to thank the Grand Marshal.

After Wen Ren Zheng left, the Emperor comforted Li Fei:

"Don't worry, tomorrow I will ask the State Preceptor to take a look at you."

Since returning from the Great Daluo Sect, Yun Shu had been in seclusion, repairing his damaged Dao principles.

To help Li Fei solve his problem, the Emperor did not hesitate to disturb Yun Shu, who was in seclusion!

In the room, the Third Imperial Prince was looking at the documents in his hand while playing with a string of grapes carved from jade.

He was barefoot, not wearing shoes, with one foot stepped on the chair, sitting without any proper posture.

If someone else struck this pose, there would be no elegance to speak of, yet when the Third Imperial Prince did so, it appeared dashing and romantic, making people feel that a person like him should have such a posture.

A woman named Xiaohua sat to the side, silently accompanying him.

"Interesting."

The Third Imperial Prince looked repeatedly at the documents in his hand, a smile appearing on his face.

A qualified subordinate would certainly cooperate by asking a question at this time, but Xiaohua had no intention of speaking at all.

This was the mode of interaction between the two.

If the Third Imperial Prince wanted to speak, she would listen quietly.

If he did not want to speak, she would only accompany him quietly by his side.

"This time when Li Fei returned to Lanling City, he was followed by Qin Zhen, a Martial Dao Master. Previously, it was also Qin Zhen who went to Tianshui City to pick him up. Why do you think that is?"

The Third Imperial Prince turned his head and asked.

Xiaohua did not hesitate: "Because Li Fei was injured, and his injuries have not yet healed."

The Third Imperial Prince nodded: "At first, I thought so too, but today, not long after Father Emperor summoned Li Fei into the palace, he summoned Wen Ren Zheng as well."

Xiaohua: "Summoned the Grand Marshal?"

The Third Imperial Prince blinked his peach-blossom-like eyes:

"Father Emperor was having a heart-to-heart with Li Fei, trying to win him over; why suddenly summon the Grand Marshal of the Military Commission? Li Fei previously returned to Wu'an University first, with the excuse that he had cultivation problems he needed to consult Master Shi Caiming about, but the result was that he brought Qin Zhen to Lanling City the next day. Father Emperor suddenly summoned Wen Ren Zheng today... I'm afraid the injuries on Li Fei are not that simple."

"What kind of injury requires disturbing the Grand Marshal?"

Only when talking about these peak figures would Xiaohua reveal her curiosity.

The Third Imperial Prince smiled as he looked at her: "You are wrong. If he were truly suffering from some serious injury, Father Emperor should have summoned those divine physicians in the Imperial Hospital, not Wen Ren Zheng. The 'God of War' is skilled at killing, not at saving people."

"That's right."

Xiaohua blinked her eyes, reacting: "Perhaps he had cultivation problems he wanted to consult the Grand Marshal about?"

The Third Imperial Prince put down the jade grapes he was playing with and sat up straight:

"Intuition tells me that this Marquis of Jing'an has likely encountered a huge problem!"

Late at night, Li Fei was staying in a separate courtyard in the Imperial City.

Although he could not currently use his internal strength or extraordinary abilities, he could hone his martial arts in the illusion woven by the Order of Dreams, and could also study the path of combining techniques and martial arts, so he still was not idle, focusing on his cultivation in the room.

Suddenly, there was movement outside the main gate.

"Li Fei, I have come to see you."

The Crown Prince's voice entered the room.

Li Fei slowly opened his eyes, stood up, and walked out of the room.

"Hahaha, congratulations to you, the greatest Dao Foundation realm cultivator in history!"

As soon as they met, the Crown Prince laughed heartily, patting Li Fei on the arm as if they were old friends reuniting after a long time.

"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Fei bowed as usual.

"Eh, no need for formalities."

The Crown Prince grabbed Li Fei's arm: "Come, come, come, quickly tell me how you killed that Martial Dao Master; I've been dying of curiosity!"

Li Fei and the Crown Prince walked into the main hall. After sitting down, Li Fei began to give the Crown Prince a rough account of the situation inside the Tomb of Tianshui.

The content he spoke was about the same as what he had said in the Imperial Study during the day, only omitting the part about finally merging with the Tianshui Soul Bone.

After listening to Li Fei's account, the Crown Prince was full of emotion:

"I originally thought Zhu Zhu Fenghua was already the limit of the Dao Foundation realm; I didn't expect you to be able to continue raising your combat power. In the future, if you become a Martial Saint, you will certainly have the opportunity to pull Lin Lin Tianyi down from the throne of the world's number one!"

Li Fei said calmly: "The road must be walked one step at a time; I am currently just a Dao Foundation realm martial artist."

The Crown Prince looked at him: "I heard that Father Emperor summoned the Grand Marshal temporarily today; did you request to see the Grand Marshal?"

Li Fei was not surprised upon hearing this.

He knew that the Emperor and Wen Ren Zheng would likely not tell others about his situation, but the news that Wen Ren Zheng had been summoned could not be hidden.

"Yes, I had some cultivation problems I wanted to consult the Grand Marshal about."

Li Fei replied.

The Crown Prince nodded upon hearing this and did not ask further.

After the two chatted for a few more sentences, the Crown Prince took the initiative to stand up and take his leave.

"Li Fei."

Just as he was about to walk out of the courtyard gate, he suddenly turned around to look at Li Fei.

"Your Highness?"

"If there is anything you need help with, remember to tell me."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

The Crown Prince looked deeply at Li Fei and turned to leave.

Li Fei watched the other party's back and stood at the gate for a while.

He had a premonition that the problem with his body would likely not be hidden for long.

Upon hearing Wen Ren Zheng say he had no way to solve his problem, it would be a lie to say Li Fei was not disappointed.

Even a Martial Saint could not solve his problem, only suggesting he start over.

Could the True Lord Yun Shu definitely solve it?

Li Fei's mindset at this moment was actually somewhat pessimistic.

If True Lord Yun Shu could not solve his problem tomorrow either, then it seemed only the path of starting over remained.

Once that happened, the news certainly could not be hidden.

By then, the world would know that he, who had just been called the greatest Dao Foundation realm cultivator in history, was ruined...

Even with a firm will and full confidence in himself, Li Fei could not help but be affected, his mood somewhat low.

He clenched his fists, stood in place for a while, then turned and returned to his room to continue his cultivation.

Under the night sky, this separate courtyard remains brightly lit all night long.

The next afternoon, Feng Cheng personally came to wait outside Li Fei's separate courtyard.

"Marquis of Jing'an, His Majesty requests your presence."

Li Fei followed this Imperial Eunuch to the Imperial Study once again.

This time, besides the Emperor, Yun Shu, who was wearing Daoist robes, was also in the Imperial Study.

Yun Shu's appearance looked less aged than when he was at the Great Daluo Sect, but he had not returned to his initial appearance as a young Daoist; he now looked to be about forty-something years old.

"Greetings, Your Majesty; greetings, State Preceptor."

Li Fei bowed in turn.

"Li Fei, come."

The Emperor beckoned to Li Fei, signaling for him to come directly over.

"I specially invited the State Preceptor to have him take a look at you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty; sorry to trouble the State Preceptor."

"Hmm."

Yun Shu nodded at Li Fei: "Relax your mind and spirit; I will use the Analysis of Dao Principles to examine your Dao foundation."

The Dao principles condensed by his life-bound magic treasure, the "Luo Tian Star Chart," were the Analysis of Dao Principles, capable of seeing through the essence of all things!

Investigating with such ability naturally allowed him to see through everything.

Li Fei had thought beforehand that Yun Shu might use the power of Dao principles to investigate; after all, this was something the Emperor had personally requested, so he had not brought the Order of Dreams with him this time, leaving it in the separate courtyard where he lived.

He followed Yun Shu's request, relaxed his mind and spirit, and stood before the other party.

Clear light lit up in Yun Shu's eyes, and an aura that was great and transcended everything fell upon Li Fei!

Li Fei had perceived this aura more than once; this was the aura of the Great Dao!

Soon, Li Fei had the feeling of being completely seen through; from the inside out, he was like a piece of glazed glass displayed before Yun Shu:

Flesh, bones, meridians, four types of implants, the Tianshui Soul Bone, including the 【Phantom Leaf】 at the center of his brows...

Everything had nowhere to hide.

But the "Blood Spring" inside his dantian was not discovered.

"The Blood Spring is a product of the Blood Soul Bead; the Blood Spring was not discovered, meaning the Blood Soul Bead was not discovered either."

Li Fei's thoughts turned rapidly.

In fact, before coming, he had thought about the problem that the Blood Soul Bead might be discovered by Yun Shu.

The Blood Soul Bead was not a bead that truly existed inside Li Fei's body, but something bound to his soul.

So even if Yun Shu truly used the Analysis of Dao Principles to discover the Blood Soul Bead, Li Fei was not worried that the other party would have any designs on it, because it simply could not be snatched away.

Secondly, Li Fei had an inexplicable confidence in the Blood Soul Bead.

He felt that even Yun Shu, this True Lord, might not be able to discover it!

Now, the facts confirmed his guess; Yun Shu had not discovered the "Blood Spring" inside his body, let alone the Blood Soul Bead.

A few seconds later, the clear light in Yun Shu's eyes vanished, and he withdrew the Dao principles.

He turned his head to look at the Emperor:

"Your Majesty, the Marquis of Jing'an's problem cannot be solved by relying on pure power. To solve the imbalance of the Dao foundation, there are only two paths."

Hearing these words, Li Fei's spirit was lifted.

"Which two paths?"

The Emperor asked.

"The first path: start from the Dao foundation itself, weakening the grade of the Tianshui Soul Bone, or strengthening the grade of the remaining four types of implants.

The former requires me to analyze with Dao principles every day, taking several years, and perhaps it could fundamentally weaken, or even break, this Tianshui Soul Bone.

The latter requires finding another four types of seventh-grade implants that can form a Dao foundation."

Yun Shu said calmly.

The Emperor frowned immediately upon hearing this.

The Analysis of Dao Principles could analyze the origin of all things; to a certain extent, as long as one was willing to spend time and energy, Yun Shu was almost omnipotent!

But how precious was the time of a True Lord?

Let alone that Yun Shu currently still needed long-term seclusion to repair himself, even if he did not need to heal, how could he spend several years doing nothing, consuming the power of Dao principles every day specifically to analyze the Tianshui Soul Bone for Li Fei?

It would be about the same as Li Fei becoming the Emperor!

As for finding another four types of seventh-grade implants, one could tell just by hearing it that this was also unlikely to be realized.

Even if the Emperor were willing to help Li Fei with all his might, the remaining seventh-grade exotic beasts in this world would likely not be able to make up the four types of implants Li Fei needed.

After all, the composition of a Dao foundation was not that simple; it was not enough just to gather implants of the five attributes of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

"What is the other path?"

The Emperor asked.

Yun Shu: "The other path is to break the deadlock with external force."

The Emperor was puzzled: "If external force can break the deadlock, shouldn't you and Wen Ren Zheng be enough?"

Yun Shu shook his head: "It is not the external force of outsiders. Whether it is me or Grand Marshal Wen Ren, if we take action, we will only destroy the Marquis of Jing'an's Dao foundation along with it. This external force refers to the power inside the Marquis of Jing'an's body besides Martial Dao."

Li Fei, to the side, had his eyes light up: "Does the State Preceptor refer to the power of techniques?"

Yun Shu turned his head to look at him: "Correct. A portion of the Tianshui Soul Bone has already merged into your Dao foundation; to exert influence on this portion of the Tianshui Soul Bone without damaging your Dao foundation, one can only rely on the power of techniques, and it must be your own power of techniques."

Li Fei had a sudden realization.

In the situation where the Tianshui Soul Bone and his other four types of implants were merged, wanting to use the power of Martial Dao to influence the Tianshui Soul Bone was like having a person pull their own hair to lift their feet off the ground.

No matter how strong one's own Martial Dao power was, this was impossible to realize.

So one could only rely on external force, and it had to be external force that also came from oneself.

This power was different from the power of Martial Dao, but could also merge with one's own power of Martial Dao; only then could it exert influence on the Tianshui Soul Bone merged into the Dao foundation.

This immediately made Li Fei think of the dual cultivation of techniques and martial arts!

The dual cultivation of techniques and martial arts was never simply practicing Martial Dao and techniques at the same time, but needing to be able to merge two completely different powers, forming a positive influence on each other.

The 【Blood Might God】 Li Fei created himself was the merging of mind power and technique power; this was a manifestation of the dual cultivation of techniques and martial arts.

Now, Yun Shu's suggestion to Li Fei was to have him find a way to merge his technique power into his Dao foundation, thereby influencing the Tianshui Soul Bone inside the Dao foundation.

This kind of thing could only rely on Li Fei himself, because mind power and virtual thoughts were two sides of one person's spiritual consciousness; only mind power and virtual thoughts from the same person could merge with each other, and only the Martial Dao and techniques of the same person could merge with each other.

This was what Yun Shu called breaking the deadlock with force!

This "force" could not come from the outside world; it could only come from Li Fei himself.

"Please give me guidance, State Preceptor."

Li Fei said hurriedly.

"It seems you have already thought of it; this is exactly the path you are pursuing, the dual cultivation of techniques and martial arts."

Yun Shu said to Li Fei: "Your cultivation in the path of techniques has reached the Possession stage, but wanting to use this level of power to influence the seventh-grade Tianshui Soul Bone, you are still lacking."

Li Fei was startled: "Could it be that I must first break through my technique cultivation to the True Spirit realm?"

Yun Shu: "In the merging of the dual cultivation of techniques and martial arts, the greater the difference in level between Martial Dao and the path of techniques, the greater the difficulty of merging. If you first break through your technique cultivation to the True Spirit realm, and then conversely use the power of techniques to merge into your Dao foundation, the difficulty will be very great. And next, if you want to break through your Martial Dao realm, the difficulty will also be very great."

Li Fei was stunned.

He immediately thought of Zhu Zhu Fenghua.

Zhu Zhu Fenghua could have broken through several years ago, whether it was Martial Dao breaking through to the Master realm, or the path of techniques breaking through to the True Spirit realm. As long as he wanted to, he could break through at any time.

But Zhu Zhu Fenghua had always suppressed his realm without breaking through, because once he chose one of the paths to break through, the difficulty of breaking through the remaining path would increase by a lot, a lot!

And next, wanting to dual cultivate techniques and martial arts, perfectly merging the two powers together, the difficulty would also become very great!

Lin Lin Tianyi took seven disciples; among the six senior brothers and senior sisters before Zhu Zhu Fenghua, five were stuck at this step, wasting decades without being able to cross this hurdle.

That was why Zhu Zhu Fenghua wanted to "ascend to the heavens in one step," breaking through the realms of Martial Dao and the path of techniques at the same time.

But the final result was that Zhu Zhu Fenghua was forced to break through; he ultimately still failed to achieve "ascending to the heavens in one step."

As for Li Fei, his Dao foundation currently had problems, Martial Dao could not break through, and he had even less of an opportunity to "ascend to the heavens in one step."

"The first key node of the dual cultivation of techniques and martial arts is the Dao Foundation stage, the Possession stage. Next, you first break through one of them; even if the remaining one cannot break through, you can at least choose to give up and focus on one path."

Yun Shu said to Li Fei: "Your talent is more manifested in Martial Dao; if, in order to solve the problem of Martial Dao, you ultimately break through the path of techniques first, then in the future, I'm afraid you will have no opportunity to regret it, and can only choose to focus on walking the path of techniques."

This was the point he wanted to remind Li Fei of.

If he broke through the path of techniques first, it could lead to his Martial Dao cultivation forever remaining at the Dao Foundation stage!

"Let alone that if you want to break through to the True Spirit realm in techniques, the difficulty is not low either. Even if you truly break through, your Martial Dao might also stop there. In this way, it is actually putting the cart before the horse. So my suggestion to you is the same as the Grand Marshal's."

Yun Shu looked at Li Fei, word by word:

"Destroy the Dao foundation and start over."

(End of chapter)