Chapter 426: The New True Monarch

At 2:00 AM, the headquarters of the Inspection Pavilion was brightly lit.

Pavilion members arrived at the headquarters by car one after another.

It was naturally no small matter that could make these big shots crawl out of their beds in the middle of the night and rush to the headquarters.

In the very center of the Inspection Pavilion headquarters stood a great hall; this was where the Inspection Pavilion held its meetings.

All major matters requiring decisions from the Pavilion Master and Vice Pavilion Masters were deliberated here.

Inside the great hall, Inspection Pavilion Master Lou Lou Hongtao had already arrived.

Besides him, there was also one Vice Pavilion Master and three Pavilion members in the hall.

Apart from these people, Li Fei, dressed in a golden robe, sat to one side.

Lying at his feet were three people—the three Westerners, Tuo Suo, Lu En, and the others.

Tuo Suo's vitality far exceeded that of a Dao Foundation cultivator of the same realm, so even though his internal organs were all damaged, he was still not dead.

After Li Fei captured him alive, he used the mark in the Dream Realm to successively capture the other two Westerners.

After capturing the three, Li Fei brought them directly to the Inspection Pavilion headquarters and notified Lou Lou Hongtao.

Thus, the current situation came to be.

"Everyone is here; let's begin."

After two more Pavilion members arrived at the great hall, Lou Lou Hongtao, sitting in the main seat, said in a deep voice.

He did not summon all the members of the Inspection Pavilion, only those responsible for intelligence work in the Western Continent.

"Please, Marquis Jing'an, tell everyone about the situation."

Everyone present looked at Li Fei, who was resting with his eyes closed.

Li Fei opened his eyes, pointed at the three people lying at his feet, and said:

"These three are Western spies I captured. Last night, they conducted a secret transaction with someone, using two hundred Star Stones to trade for over thirty martial arts manuals, including one top-tier Dao Foundation inheritance and a matching peerless martial art."

"How is that possible?!"

As Li Fei's voice fell, everyone present, except for Lou Lou Hongtao, changed color.

"This Marquis has captured both parties to the transaction; the Star Stones and the manuals are all here—caught red-handed."

Li Fei calmly took out a sky-blue Star Stone and two manuals, placing them on a table to the side.

"Star Stones!"

The people present were responsible for intelligence on the Western Continent, so they recognized this precious material unique to the Western Continent at a glance.

Trade between the two continents had been open for decades, and even at the peak of prosperity, the total amount of Star Stones circulating in the market did not exceed one hundred.

Yet Li Fei said this transaction involved two hundred Star Stones!

If this were true, trading for a top-tier Dao Foundation inheritance and a peerless-level martial art seemed plausible.

But a top-tier Dao Foundation involved too much; tonight's affair might be no less shocking than the three major cases that recently rocked the capital.

Could it be that the 'Three Major Cases' were about to become the 'Four Major Cases' so soon?

"May I ask Marquis Jing'an to explain in detail how you discovered these people? And who was the other party trading with the Westerners?"

Lou Lou Hongtao asked in a deep voice.

Li Fei then gave a rough account of his experiences tonight.

He did not say he found them through the 'Dream Realm' technique, only that he relied on a certain secret method and had special sensory abilities.

Lou Lou Hongtao and the others did not doubt this.

Now, the high-ranking officials of the imperial court all knew that Li Fei had spent three full months in the Royal Library; it was perfectly normal for him to have learned some unique secret method.

"Last time, this Marquis handed over an important witness to the Pavilion, but in the end, the person died. This time, they won't die again, will they?"

Li Fei asked.

As soon as these words were spoken, the great hall fell silent, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

Lou Lou Hongtao's expression remained unchanged: "I have already reported to the palace, requesting His Majesty to send the Imperial Guard to assist the Inspection Pavilion in guarding these prisoners."

These words made several Pavilion members change color slightly.

In fact, the experts of the Inspection Pavilion, the Zhige Pavilion, and the Zhengfa Pavilion were not necessarily inferior to the Imperial Guard, but the mobilization of the Imperial Guard carried a completely different meaning.

"Good."

Li Fei nodded with satisfaction.

He could not guard Tuo Suo and the others forever; eventually, he would have to hand them over.

Moreover, the oath-based spells on Tuo Suo and the others, as well as the four Dao Foundation-level dead soldiers, still required the Zhengfa Pavilion to resolve.

"Everyone, is there any information in your intelligence regarding members of the Deni Kingdom royal family?"

Lou Lou Hongtao asked the people present.

"Pavilion Master, the secret agents in my hands have always maintained surveillance on these people from the Deni Kingdom, but... we did not discover that there were actually royal family members among them."

One Pavilion member said cautiously.

Lou Lou Hongtao looked at him, expressionless: "Then do you have a grasp on when and from where they transported so many Star Stones, and when they made contact with the other party to negotiate the trade for the top-tier Dao Foundation inheritance?"

The Pavilion member hurriedly stood up and bowed: "It is this subordinate's dereliction of duty!"

Subsequently, Lou Lou Hongtao questioned the other Pavilion members one by one, exchanging information with them.

Listening to their conversation, Li Fei finally understood that the Inspection Pavilion had always known there were Western spies in Lanling City and had been secretly tracking their movements all along.

What puzzled him, however, was why the Inspection Pavilion had never moved to arrest them, leading to such a situation today?

A moment later, Lou Lou Hongtao finished talking with the Pavilion members and instructed them to go about their business.

Afterward, someone came to report that all those dead soldiers in the valley outside the city had been brought back.

Hearing this result, Li Fei finally relaxed.

After he captured Tuo Suo and the others and arrived at the Inspection Pavilion headquarters, he had immediately asked Lou Lou Hongtao to arrange for people to go outside the city to meet up with Lu Lu Wenxing and the others.

Now that everyone had been brought back, tonight's operation could be considered a complete success.

After everyone was locked in the dungeons of the Inspection Pavilion headquarters, Lou Lou Hongtao said to Li Fei:

"Marquis Jing'an, please come with me."

Li Fei then stood up, followed Lou Lou Hongtao out of the great hall, and walked into the small pavilion where the other man had his personal office.

After the two went up to the second floor, Lou Lou Hongtao dismissed the others, leaving only himself and Li Fei in the entire pavilion.

Subsequently, a deep, profound aura emanated from Lou Lou Hongtao's body, enveloping the small pavilion.

"The power of a Divine Ability?"

Li Fei sensed this aura and realized that Lou Lou Hongtao had already used a Divine Ability to seal off the area!

"Pavilion Master Lou?"

He looked at Lou Lou Hongtao, realizing that what the other man was about to say was likely extraordinary.

Lou Lou Hongtao looked at him: "Marquis Jing'an, were you just about to ask why the Inspection Pavilion didn't arrest these Western spies earlier, given that we had already tracked their movements?"

Li Fei nodded: "Yes, I ask Pavilion Master Lou to enlighten this Marquis."

"Actually, the reason is very simple: because the imperial court is also conducting trade with Western countries."

Lou Lou Hongtao said calmly.

These words shocked Li Fei; he narrowed his eyes, then gave a self-deprecating smile.

This answer was both surprising and yet within reason, leaving him speechless.

"Just like the Star Stones you brought out tonight, there are many rare materials in the Western Continent that the Eastern Continent lacks, which are very valuable for trade. Even though the two continents have fought bloody wars in the past, it still does not affect trade between them."

Lou Lou Hongtao explained to Li Fei.

Li Fei regained his composure: "Including using top-tier martial arts manuals for trade?"

Lou Lou Hongtao shook his head: "That, naturally, is not allowed."

"Let alone top-tier martial arts manuals, using any martial arts manuals or martial cultivation resources to trade with the Western Continent, once verified, will be treated as treason!"

"But this kind of thing cannot be completely stamped out."

Lou Lou Hongtao revealed a mocking expression and shook his head:

"For many forces, taking out a low-value martial arts manual and some ordinary martial cultivation resources can be exchanged for ten times or even more profit. How could they not be tempted?"

Li Fei was silent.

The logic was just that simple; for ten times or even more profit, there were always people willing to take any risk!

As for the big picture or the future, how could they compare to the immediate benefits before their eyes?

"So this is the reason why the Inspection Pavilion did not move against those Western spies. Rather than letting other forces secretly trade with the Western Continent, it is better to keep the trade channels in the hands of the imperial court. This way, the court can profit and also control the development of the situation at any time."

Li Fei said.

On one hand, they forbid trading martial arts manuals and resources with the Western Continent, punishing others for treason.

On the other hand, they secretly trade with the Western Continent themselves.

This sounds very ironic and absurd, but it is precisely the reality.

And thinking about it carefully, Li Fei had to admit that the imperial court doing this was the choice that maximized their interests.

"This matter is mainly handled by the Military Council; the Inspection Pavilion only assists. The ones overseeing the big picture are the Grand Secretary and His Majesty."

Lou Lou Hongtao said to Li Fei.

Li Fei nodded; no wonder the other man reported to the palace immediately.

"The Deni Kingdom royal family member I fought tonight, relying solely on the power of his own bloodline, is at most comparable to a 7th-tier Dao Foundation combat power, but with martial arts cultivation added, his combat power is even stronger than many people on the current Wind and Cloud Ranking!"

Li Fei looked at Lou Lou Hongtao:

"Is the imperial court not worried about raising a tiger that will cause trouble?"

Lou Lou Hongtao: "Naturally, we are worried, but Marquis Jing'an need not be too anxious. Even if the Western Continent truly masters our top-tier martial arts resources, it is very difficult for them to cultivate too many experts."

As he spoke, he began to explain the situation of the Western Continent to Li Fei in detail:

The Western Continent respects Transcendentals and God-gifted ones. These people who possess powerful strength are almost all nobles there, so the power hierarchy of the Western Continent is also based on noble ranks.

The noble titles in the Western Continent are the same as in the Eastern Continent: King, Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, and Baron.

Under normal circumstances, a Baron's combat power is equivalent to a Body-Breaking stage martial artist.

A Viscount's combat power is equivalent to a Qi-Transformation stage martial artist.

An Earl's combat power is equivalent to the Dao Foundation stage.

A Marquis's combat power is equivalent to a Martial Arts Grandmaster.

A Duke's combat power is equivalent to a Great Grandmaster.

The most critical part is the 'King' rank; whether it is a Prince of the Blood or the highest King, their combat power is higher than a peak Great Grandmaster but lower than a Martial Saint.

"People of the Western Continent rely on bloodline power, like some kind of humanoid exotic beast. But the human body has its limits; even if the purity of bloodline power reaches the extreme and strength is pushed to the limit, it still cannot compare to a true 9th-grade exotic beast."

Lou Lou Hongtao said:

"Does Marquis Jing'an know that the legendary 9th-grade exotic beasts actually have not mastered complete Dao Laws?"

Li Fei was startled and shook his head.

He really didn't know this; he only knew that 9th-grade exotic beasts were sufficient to compare with Martial Saints and True Monarchs.

And Martial Saints and True Monarchs were both peak experts who had mastered Dao Laws. If 9th-grade exotic beasts hadn't mastered Dao Laws, what did they rely on to compare with peak experts?

Lou Lou Hongtao saw Li Fei's confusion and smiled: "Although 9th-grade exotic beasts have not mastered complete Dao Laws, they possess unimaginably powerful bodies; their physical strength and vitality are incredibly strong!

As the saying goes, quantitative change leads to qualitative change. When vitality is strong to a certain level, even if just by grinding away, these 9th-grade exotic beasts are sufficient to rival Martial Saints and True Monarchs. Even if Martial Saints and True Monarchs want to kill them, it is very difficult to do so."

"Uh..."

Li Fei was stunned.

The more he listened, the more he felt that his future template might be that of a legendary 9th-grade exotic beast?

"The Transcendentals in the Western Continent, even if their bloodline power reaches the limit, still cannot escape the shackles of the human body. They simply cannot compare to those 9th-grade exotic beasts whose bodies are as large as mountains, so their upper limit of strength is naturally restricted—Martial Saints and True Monarchs are realms they can never touch."

Lou Lou Hongtao said.

Li Fei frowned slightly: "But can't they incorporate implants and walk the path of martial arts cultivation like us? I saw that Deni Kingdom royal family member tonight clearly using the power of martial arts to become even more powerful."

Lou Lou Hongtao shook his head: "The Great Dao is fifty, the Heavenly Derivation is forty-nine; there is nothing perfect in this world. The Transcendentals of the Western Continent possess innate bloodline advantages and can rival our years of hard cultivation without much effort, so naturally, there are flaws.

This flaw is the cultivation of martial arts and Daoist arts. They succeed because of bloodline power and fail because of bloodline power. With this bloodline power, their innate bloodlines are impure, and they will be restricted everywhere on the path of cultivation.

Just like the most powerful 9th-grade exotic beasts can never master complete Dao Laws, no matter how hard people of the Western Continent try on the path of cultivation, their achievements will only be lower than those of 9th-grade exotic beasts."

"This..."

Li Fei felt a bit confused.

Don't the people of the Eastern Continent who step onto the path of cultivation also rely on the bloodline power of exotic beasts?

Why are the people of the Western Continent, who possess innate bloodline power, restricted everywhere on the path of cultivation instead?

"Martial arts cultivation, the further up you go, the lower the reliance on implants. Martial arts and Daoist arts, in the final step of stepping onto the peak, can only rely on oneself."

Lou Lou Hongtao continued to explain:

"Combined with the cultivation situation in the Western Continent, the State Preceptor once had a conjecture."

"Oh?"

Li Fei became curious, wanting to know what True Monarch Xiang Yunshu's conjecture was.

Lou Lou Hongtao did not keep him in suspense:

"The State Preceptor believes that perhaps the purest human bloodline in our Eastern Continent is the bloodline most favored by the Heavenly Dao. We use implants like humans use tools, using implants to build a ladder to the heavens for us.

But in the end, we still rely on our own strength to master Dao Laws. Other exotic beast bloodlines, as well as the bloodlines of the Western Continent, have been abandoned by the Heavenly Dao and can never get close to the Great Dao."

Li Fei was thoughtful, then smiled:

"The Transcendentals of the Western Continent all feel that they are favored by heaven. I really don't know what they would think if they heard the State Preceptor's conjecture?"

Lou Lou Hongtao also laughed: "They enjoyed the dividends of innate bloodline power, so naturally, they must also accept the evil consequences brought by innate bloodline power."

Li Fei suddenly thought of a question:

"Pavilion Master Lou, what about the other ordinary people in the Western Continent? Will they also be restricted?"

Lou Lou Hongtao nodded: "Yes, the ordinary people of the Western Continent just have thin bloodline power, so they didn't trigger transcendent power. But their bloodlines are also innately impure; even if they are not Transcendentals, they will still be restricted in cultivation."

That is even more miserable...

Li Fei: "In that case, the Deni Kingdom royal family member I met tonight can be considered a genius in martial arts, still able to cultivate to the Dao Foundation stage under restricted conditions."

"Not bad, this person is indeed a genius in martial arts. If there were no restrictions brought by bloodline power, his upper limit might be much higher than it is now."

Lou Lou Hongtao said, "The Military Council and the Inspection Pavilion have also sent secret agents to the Western Continent. According to the intelligence gathered over the years, we have a rough estimate:

Among one thousand people here, about one can become a martial artist. And in the Western Continent, among ten thousand people, there may not even be one who can become a martial artist.

The further up you go, the greater the difference in the number of martial arts experts will be. As for the number of Transcendentals on their side, it is also far lower than the number of our martial artists."

Hearing this, Li Fei breathed a sigh of relief.

At least the situation was much better than he had imagined.

But even so, trading top-tier Dao Foundation inheritances and peerless-level martial arts to the Western Continent was still a very malicious act!

Even if people in the Western Continent were innately restricted in cultivation, Transcendentals like Tuo Suo, who had cultivated to the Dao Foundation stage, had appeared.

If they mastered stronger Dao Foundations and martial arts, perhaps a batch of people with stronger combat power would appear!

Therefore, although the imperial court had been secretly trading with the Western Continent, high-level Dao Foundations and top-tier martial arts were already the upper limit of trade; any further cultivation methods and resources were absolutely forbidden!

"Is the Western Continent promoting the cultivation of martial arts and Daoist arts on a large scale?"

Li Fei asked.

Lou Lou Hongtao shook his head.

"Why?"

Li Fei was surprised.

Clearly, promoting cultivation methods was a way to narrow the combat power gap with the Eastern Continent.

"Because it is not conducive to rule."

Lou Lou Hongtao answered Li Fei in one sentence, his eyes meaningful.

"..."

Li Fei understood.

The Western Continent divides noble and base classes purely by bloodline; social oppression will only be more severe than in the Great Lan Dynasty!

The path of upward mobility is also far inferior to the Great Lan Dynasty.

So once cultivation methods are promoted on a large scale, the impact will be very serious!

This difficulty is probably several times harder than Ye Ye Zean pushing for the Mingxin Reform in the Great Lan Dynasty!

"And there is another key point: the Western Continent has no exotic beasts, and cultivation resources are scarce."

Lou Lou Hongtao said.

"That's true."

Li Fei nodded.

He looked at Lou Lou Hongtao: "Why did Pavilion Master Lou suddenly want to tell me these things tonight?"

Many of these contents were secrets among secrets!

Lou Lou Hongtao: "You captured those Western spies and broke through the secret trade. There must be a result for this matter, and it will be difficult to hide many inside stories from you.

And with your current status and identity, you also have the authorization to know these secrets."

Li Fei narrowed his eyes.

Lou Lou Hongtao had something in his words.

Listening to the other man's meaning, the follow-up handling of tonight's matter would likely be different from what he thought.

Otherwise, Lou Lou Hongtao wouldn't need to go to the trouble of telling him so many inside stories first.

However, Lou Lou Hongtao did not say it explicitly, so Li Fei did not ask further.

He thanked Lou Lou Hongtao and then stood up to leave.

Early the next morning.

Someone came from the palace; it was the Imperial Eunuch Feng Cheng.

Lou Lou Hongtao and Li Fei went to welcome him.

Outside the main gate of the Inspection Pavilion headquarters, Feng Cheng stood quietly, followed by a team of Imperial Guards clad in golden armor, looking imposing.

The leader was a commander of the Imperial Guard, a Martial Arts Grandmaster!

"Eunuch Feng."

Lou Lou Hongtao and Li Fei walked out of the gate and bowed to Feng Cheng.

Feng Cheng returned the salute: "Greetings, Lord Lou, Marquis Jing'an."

"His Majesty has an edict for me to transfer a team of Imperial Guards to Pavilion Master Lou; they will cooperate with Pavilion Master Lou to guard the prisoners."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Lou Lou Hongtao bowed.

Just transferring a team of Imperial Guards did not require Feng Cheng, the Chief Eunuch of the Inner Palace, to make a personal trip.

So the point was still a matter of posture.

Feng Cheng looked at Li Fei and said with a smile: "Marquis Jing'an, His Majesty summons you to the palace."

Li Fei was startled.

He had applied for so long to enter the palace to see the Emperor, and today he finally received the summons.

Subsequently, Li Fei and Feng Cheng took a carriage to the palace together.

The car drove into the Imperial City, unimpeded all the way, and entered deep into the palace.

Afterward, the two got out of the car, and Feng Cheng led Li Fei to a palace.

Li Fei saw that this road was not going to the Imperial Study, so he couldn't help but be startled and asked softly:

"Eunuch Feng, may I ask where His Majesty is summoning me?"

Feng Cheng turned around, still smiling:

"At the Yangxin Hall."

Li Fei suddenly understood.

The Zhenglan Hall was where the Grand Morning Assembly was held, while the Yangxin Hall was where the 'Small Morning Assembly' was held.

Usually, the Emperor would summon some high-ranking officials to discuss matters at the Yangxin Hall.

Compared to the Imperial Study, the Yangxin Hall was much more formal.

In the past, Li Fei was always summoned to the Imperial Study; this time it was changed to the Yangxin Hall.

The meaning behind this made him chew on it a few more times.

Soon, Li Fei was led into a palace.

Compared to the grandeur of the Zhenglan Hall, this palace was much more exquisite and elegant, and its area was not that large.

Inside the palace, in the main seat directly in front, was a dragon robe; it was the current Son of Heaven.

There were two rows of seats on the left and right, with no imperial steps, bringing the distance between the Emperor and the officials much closer.

At this time, one person was sitting in each of the seats on the left and right:

Ye Ye Zean, Wen Wen Ren Zheng.

One was the head of the civil officials, the other was the peak of the military generals; both were pillars of the empire!

Li Fei was stunned for a moment; he had originally thought that today was a private summons by the Emperor, not expecting the scale to be so 'top-tier'.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."

Li Fei strode into the hall and bowed to the Son of Heaven directly in front.

"No need for formalities, sit."

The Emperor's expression looked very calm, and his tone was neither cold nor indifferent.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Li Fei walked to the left and sat beside Ye Ye Zean.

This Grand Secretary, who had just played three games of chess with him not long ago, looked straight ahead and did not look at him much.

"Grand Secretary, continue."

The Emperor said.

Apparently, before Li Fei arrived, the three of them were already discussing matters.

Ye Ye Zean spoke slowly, talking about the matter of the Lanxun Pavilion:

"Representatives from twenty-three provinces have already arrived in the capital, and the identities of the participants from all localities have been confirmed..."

Li Fei listened quietly from the side.

Today was already February 27th, and the day after tomorrow was March 1st, which was the day of the first public vote for the Lanxun Pavilion.

Listening to Ye Ye Zean's introduction, Li Fei only then learned that the public vote the day after tomorrow would actually take the form of a national television broadcast.

The previous National Martial Arts Exchange Tournament had done a national television broadcast once, and the Lanxun Pavilion public vote the day after tomorrow would be the second time.

At that time, live broadcast sites would be set up in various places, and the participants involved in the public vote would cast their votes in the television broadcast in front of the national public!

(End of chapter)