Chapter 444: Where in Life is Not Cultivation (6000)

Li Fei descended slowly from the air and returned to the high platform.

During this process, Chen Fei still did not appear.

Possessing a healing divine ability like 【Regeneration】, the other party of course could not have just died like this, nor would he be unable to get up until now.

In fact, contrary to what others guessed, Chen Fei was not really injured much.

But he lay in the pit he smashed out for a long time without getting up.

He was frightened by Li Fei's unsolvable defense, and also frightened by the last punch!

The outside world only knew that his famous stunt was 'Shattering Void Six-Phase Sound Killing', but few people knew that he actually had another stunt—In-Phase Six-Phase Control Qi.

【Control Qi】 + 【Ten Thousand Sounds Come to Court】 + 【Clone】, Chen Fei can use the principle of in-phase superposition of sound waves to multiply the power of sound killing, and can also use the interaction of in-phase sound waves and control qi, plus the special connection between the main body and clones, to let five clones share the damage for the main body together.

This is In-Phase Six-Phase Control Qi!

Shattering Void Six-Phase Sound Killing is offense, In-Phase Six-Phase Control Qi is defense.

After Chen Fei practiced these two stunts, very few people could force out his full strength.

Just now, facing Li Fei's last punch, that terrifying momentum like the sun at high noon made Chen Fei subconsciously cast 'In-Phase Six-Phase Control Qi'.

The result was that the five clones that helped share the damage were all shattered instantly!

These clones possess Chen Fei's one hundred percent vitality!

The vitality of a Martial Arts Master is inherently at least twice that of a Dao-Foundation martial artist, and as the number of implants increases, the physique and vitality will continue to be enhanced.

Chen Fei is a four-divine-ability Martial Arts Master, and his vitality is several times that of a peak Dao-Foundation martial artist!

With such strong vitality, five clones shared the damage together, and as a result, they were all blasted by Li Fei with one punch?

So Chen Fei was frightened.

Although his remaining divine ability power could use the 【Regeneration】 divine ability to make all clones 'resurrect' twice more.

But who knows how many more punches like that Li Fei can throw?

Offense, cannot break.

Defense, cannot hold.

Both of his strongest means were inferior to Li Fei, how to fight this?

Chen Fei lay silently in the pit for a while, then got up and left quietly.

Return to the camp?

Don't have the face to go back!

In the camp, Li Fei looked in the distance, sensing that Chen Fei had already left.

Before casting Sword State · Light-Splitting Blood Shadow, he did not use any blood soul skills, just wanting to see if he could contend with a four-divine-ability Martial Arts Master by relying on the combination of double divine abilities and sorcerer-martial arts?

Finally, he found that fighting in the air, he was still unable to do what he wanted when fighting Chen Fei, this top-tier Martial Arts Master among four divine abilities.

Probably could exhaust the other party to death, but that was not the result Li Fei wanted.

So he began to use blood soul skills.

That last punch, in the 'Blood Demon State', 【Blood Rage】 power doubled, and then used the Vajra Seal · Dragon Elephant to continue doubling this power.

That is the power of Blood Rage, equivalent to the conversion of 2320 Blood Souls!

Not only that, but Li Fei's punch also combined the Dao Force 【Infinite Bright Fire】, condensing all scattered force into a single point, then infused it with a massive amount of Sword Qi in Sword Stance, imitating the punch he once watched the Martial Saint Tai Yu throw at the Daluo Sect, thus delivering that punch just now which was "At the Zenith of the Sun"!

Although this punch only consumed 580 Blood Souls to activate 【Blood Rage】, its power far exceeded the upper limit of what Li Fei's body could currently withstand, and the self-inflicted damage caused was as high as over 400 Blood Souls.

Therefore, by throwing this punch, Li Fei instantly consumed over 1000 Blood Souls!

Every subsequent punch will also require self-inflicted damage of over 400 Blood Souls.

Li Fei's current total Blood Soul amount from the Myriad Blood Pearl + Blood Spring is 6765, so he can only throw a dozen or so punches in a row at most.

The question is, how many Martial Dao Grandmasters under the heavens can block a dozen punches like his in a row?

A Martial Dao Grandmaster with five supernatural powers? Or a Martial Dao Grandmaster with six?

To be honest, Li Fei is also quite curious.

He could of course have used this move from the very beginning, but that would not have achieved his goal.

He did not come here today to defeat anyone.

If he had solved Chen Fei with a single punch right from the start, these people in the camp would likely have thought that the person he defeated was merely an ordinary Martial Dao Grandmaster with only one supernatural power.

Let Chen Fei fully demonstrate his strength first, show all his supernatural powers one by one; the more impressive he performs earlier on, the better!

In the end, Li Fei will settle the matter with one punch.

Only then can this "prestige" be considered truly established!

"From today onwards, all of you are my soldiers!"

Li Fei stood on the high platform and said to the crowd below.

"We are willing to follow the Marquis!"

Ding Ding Chengyun, who was holding the clothes and sword for Li Fei, was the first to shout loudly.

"We are willing to follow the Marquis!"

Following closely were the more than three thousand martial artists recommended from various places.

According to His Majesty's decree, they should have been listening to Li Fei's orders from the start.

Finally, there were the more than three hundred military officers of various ranks who had been transferred over.

From Flag Officers down to Regional Military Commissioners up, the lowest being in the Po Ti Realm, and the highest in the Dao Foundation Realm.

These people looked at each other, and one after another, they bowed their heads to the figure on the high platform.

They were just following orders; they couldn't influence the infighting of the upper echelons anyway.

Now that Li Fei had won, they might as well follow Li Fei for now.

Moreover, having witnessed that battle just now, these military officers were, deep down, more willing to follow Li Fei.

Just as Li Fei said at the beginning:

On the battlefield, there is no old or new, only strong or weak.

"We are willing to follow the Marquis!"

Shaman-Killing City under the night sky was not bright, and there were very few pedestrians on the streets.

Shaman-Killing City had always implemented military control and had a curfew every night, so the nightlife here could not compare to other large cities.

Inside the Military Department command post building.

"My lord, the Marquis of Jing'an has already settled in that camp, and it looks like he might continue to lead people in training over there."

A subordinate reported to Luo Xu.

"What about Chen Fei?"

"General Chen has already returned to the Green Frost Army."

"If there is any movement in the camp, report to me at any time."

"Yes."

After the subordinate exited the room, Luo Xu picked up the receiver on the table, dialed the rotary, and made a call.

Soon, the call was connected.

"I am Luo Xu, I'm looking for Deputy Commander Wei."

"Yes, please wait a moment."

A moment later, a steady voice came from the other end of the line:

"I am Wei Wei Yihao."

A signature smile appeared on Luo Xu's face: "Deputy Commander Wei, I am very sorry about Chen Fei's matter."

Wei Wei Yihao was the Deputy Commander of the Green Frost Army, below one person, above ten thousand.

Although he only led an army of ten thousand, his rank was equivalent to Luo Xu, the Deputy Provincial Military Commander; both were Level 17 military officers!

The Military Affairs Bureau had four Provincial Military Commanders, each stationed at one of the four defense lines.

In addition to this, the commanders of the three Imperial Guard armies—White Flame, Red Red Qilin, and Green Frost—all had ranks equivalent to Provincial Military Commanders; they were Level 18 military officers!

As for the strongest Sky Blue Iron Cavalry, its commander was Wen Ren Zheng, the Grand Marshal of the Military Affairs Bureau.

So strictly speaking, the Military Affairs Bureau actually had seven major Provincial Military Commanders; four of them led armies of over one hundred thousand, while the other three led the most formidable ten-thousand-strong Imperial Guard armies.

It seemed the former were more imposing and had more power.

But if both sides were to lead their armies in a clash on the battlefield, the latter would win!

And they would win without any suspense!

Therefore, as fellow Level 17 military officers, Luo Xu spoke very politely to Wei Wei Yihao.

"I have already understood the specific situation; Chen Fei's skills were not as good as others, so he cannot blame anyone else."

Wei Wei Yihao's voice came from the receiver, and no emotional waves could be heard.

"His Majesty has ordered the Marquis of Jing'an to command those three thousand-plus martial artists, and the Military Department can only follow orders."

Luo Xu said.

Wei Wei Yihao: "I understand. Since it is His Majesty's intention, the Green Frost Army naturally has no objections."

"Eh, the Green Frost Army has worked hard and achieved much; even if the Marquis of Jing'an has His Majesty's favor, he should still maintain at least a minimum level of respect for the Green Frost Army."

Luo Xu said with a smile.

After exchanging a few more polite words with the other party, he hung up the phone.

On the other side, Green Frost City.

This was the large city where the Green Frost Army was stationed.

Wei Wei Yihao, who was tall and had a shaved head, put down the phone, glanced at Chen Fei who was sitting to the side, and sneered:

"Luo Xu, that old fox, truly has ill intentions."

Chen Fei turned his head to look over: "What did he say?"

Wei Wei Yihao rubbed his shaved head and scoffed:

"He wants to provoke our Green Frost Army into taking the initiative to pull out this thorn, the Marquis of Jing'an."

Chen Fei subconsciously rubbed his chest, recalling once again the punch he faced today.

"This Li Fei, what exactly is his strength?"

Wei Wei Yihao asked curiously.

Chen Fei gave a bitter smile: "I cannot see through him."

"Shattering Void Six-Phase Sound Kill" could not break Li Fei's defense.

"Same-Sound Six-Phase Qi Control" could not block Li Fei's attack.

He truly could not see where Li Fei's upper limit of strength was.

"Could it be that he really blocked a True Monarch's strike on his own back then?"

Wei Wei Yihao looked incredulous.

"I think it's possible!"

Chen Fei nodded very forcefully.

If even a True Monarch couldn't kill him, it's not shameful for me to lose, right?

Wei Wei Yihao glanced at him: "You've made my hands itch a little."

Chen Fei's eyes lit up, and he looked at the other party with anticipation: "Are you going to find Li Fei for a fight?"

Wei Wei Yihao laughed and cursed: "Damn, what kind of expression is that? Do you think I'll definitely lose?"

He was a Martial Dao Grandmaster with five supernatural powers; although he only had one more supernatural power than Chen Fei, his strength was already on a different level from Chen Fei's.

Therefore, although Chen Fei lost, he did not believe that he would necessarily lose.

"I think you will definitely win, my lord! When are you going?"

Chen Fei asked with anticipation.

Wei Wei Yihao shook his head: "I can't go now; if I go, I'll just be used as a blade by the Military Department."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fei also straightened his mindset: "Then what should we do next?"

Three thousand-plus martial artists—this "pie" was too tempting; the Green Frost Army would not give it up.

Even though His Majesty had already issued a decree, this "pie" had indeed fallen into Li Fei's hands for now.

But whether he could completely swallow this "pie" in the end would depend on whether Li Fei's methods were tough enough.

"His Majesty only ordered the Marquis of Jing'an to lead these martial artists to join the Shaman-Killing Army; when the war ends in the future, where these martial artists will go is still not settled."

Wei Wei Yihao said:

"In my opinion, rewards will still be based on merit when the time comes; as long as our Green Frost Army's merits are sufficient, we won't have to worry about not being able to snatch the people!"

Chen Fei was puzzled: "But there are no people from our Green Frost Army in the Shaman-Killing Army; how are we going to build merit?"

The Green Frost Army's Sha Weapons were of the highest grade, capable of forming a ten-thousand-man army formation at most, and they would not be easily split up.

Therefore, there were no Green Frost Army troops in this Shaman-Killing Army.

Wei Wei Yihao laughed: "You kid only know how to bury your head in fighting and don't know how to analyze the situation; you'll only ever be a 'general' in this life, never a 'commander'."

Chen Fei said huffily: "Then may I ask Commander Wei to analyze the situation for this subordinate?"

Wei Wei Yihao stood up directly, walked to a large sand table in the center of the room, and pointed to the area representing the Northern Barbarians on it:

"The Shaman-Killing Army's mission this time is to penetrate deep into enemy territory alone and behead the Northern Barbarian King Boerhu. I ask you, which route do you think the Shaman-Killing Army should take to break in to have a chance of success?"

Chen Fei also stood up and came to the sand table, staring at the flags inserted on it.

These flags represented the current troop distribution of the seventeen Northern Barbarian tribes. In fact, ever since he knew the imperial court would establish the Shaman-Killing Army, he had pondered this question—how would the Shaman-Killing Army break into the wilderness, pass through layers of defense lines, and behead the Northern Barbarian King?

After thinking hard for a long time, he couldn't think of a good plan, only feeling that perhaps the imperial court had capable people who could solve this problem.

Now that Wei Wei Yihao raised this question again, it made Chen Fei realize that he might have thought too simply.

"If there is only the Shaman-Killing Army, no matter how they break through, the final outcome will definitely be being surrounded by a large army and trapped inside!"

Wei Wei Yihao said very positively, "So for this operation, the entire Northern Border Defense Army will participate!"

Chen Fei suddenly realized, and he understood it all at once:

"We are responsible for attracting the main force of the Northern Barbarians, tearing open the Northern Barbarian defense line for the Shaman-Killing Army, and creating an opportunity to assassinate the King?"

Wei Wei Yihao nodded and smiled:

"It must be like this! So our Green Frost Army has plenty of opportunities to build merit. That Marquis of Jing'an, a fledgling who has never been on the battlefield, leading three thousand new recruits who have also never been on the battlefield—how can he compare with our Green Frost Army in terms of military merit?"

Chen Fei felt that what Wei Wei Yihao said made a lot of sense.

Whether the Shaman-Killing Army can succeed in the end depends on the Imperial Guard armies and those few Grandmasters in the team.

As for Li Fei, he is truly formidable, but in a war of this level, even a Martial Saint might not be more useful than the Green Frost Army!

Inside the training camp for the three thousand-plus martial artists recommended by the Blue Patrol Pavilion.

Li Fei lived in a simple wooden house.

There was one other person in the room, from Datong Prefecture, a martial artist recommended by the Green Face Villa named Gong Ze, who could be considered one of his own.

"... Those three hundred-plus military officers all have their own factions; they are people sent from various hills of the Northern Border Defense Army. Before you arrived, Marquis, these three thousand-plus people should have already been 'carved up' by the Northern Border Defense Army."

Gong Ze told Li Fei about what he had seen and heard in the Northern Border:

"... We have to train every day, and what we practice most is forced marches in the jungle. Besides that, there are courses on how to deal with various poisonous insects, poisonous barriers, potential exotic beasts, and so on."

"... The Northern Border Defense Army is actually quite generous; when we first enlisted, everyone was issued a portion of the elixirs needed for cultivation, and after training for more than a month, another portion was issued. The previous chief instructor, the one who was defeated by you, Marquis, said that as long as we perform well, we can receive extra cultivation elixirs."

"... Most of us here are just here to take a gamble in the Northern Border. Before setting off, our sects or gangs gave us a benefit, and after arriving at the border army, the Blue Patrol Pavilion also promised a benefit, and coupled with the benefits given by the border army, that's why everyone was willing to come."

"... Some are here for cultivation resources, others are just here to earn a sum. I know a forty-five-year-old brother who is a Qi-Transformation Realm Martial Master; he has four children at the local Martial Arts Hall. Providing for four children to practice martial arts is too expensive, so this brother came to the Northern Border to risk his life just to earn money for his children to practice martial arts."

"..."

After Li Fei finished listening to Gong Ze's account, he called many more people into his room one after another to ask some questions.

Besides that, there were also some people who took the initiative to come and find Li Fei to express their loyalty.

For the whole night, Li Fei was chatting and asking questions with different people.

It wasn't until the early hours of the next day that he stopped to organize the harvest of the whole night.

Now he could be certain of one thing:

Although the Emperor handed these three thousand-plus martial artists to him to command, it was limited to the upcoming war.

After the war ends, whether these people can become his foundation in the army will depend on his actions from here on out.

For the next few days, Li Fei stayed in the camp the whole time.

Although Chen Fei, the chief instructor, had left, the three hundred-plus military officers were still there, so continuing to organize training was not a problem.

Li Fei only needed to be responsible for supervising everyone's training.

Five days later, he encountered a new problem.

"What do you mean there are no more elixirs?"

Li Fei stared at a military officer in front of him and asked.

The other party hurriedly said: "Marquis, that is the reply we got from the Military Supplies Department; they said the inventory is tight, the elixirs we need are temporarily out of stock, and we need to wait."

Li Fei narrowed his eyes: "Did the Military Supplies Department say how long we need to wait?"

The military officer shook his head: "They didn't say."

"Heh."

Li Fei smiled.

Whether martial artists are cultivating or training, they must activate their implants.

And implants require a lot of energy intake; if they only rely on normal eating, the absorption is slow and the efficiency is low.

Therefore, elixirs to replenish implant energy are indispensable.

Three thousand-plus martial artists training at high intensity and overload every day—the amount of elixirs consumed is not a small number.

Previously, every week, the Military Supplies Department would send people to deliver a batch of elixirs.

Yesterday, Li Fei was informed that the elixirs used for training in the camp were about to run out, but the Military Supplies Department did not deliver the elixirs on time.

So Li Fei sent people to the Shaman-Killing City Military Supplies Department today to inquire about this matter.

The final reply received was that the inventory was tight and the elixirs were temporarily out of stock.

Everything was fine when Chen Fei was here, but as soon as he arrived, the inventory became tight.

One could tell there was something fishy going on just by thinking about it!

However, Li Fei did not get angry.

The imperial decree only said to let him command these three thousand-plus martial artists.

Whether it's the three hundred-plus military officers responsible for training and command, the elixirs currently used for training, or the weapons, firearms, ammunition, protective gear, etc., that will be needed in the future.

These all belong to "additional content."

How the Northern Border Defense Army gives them, when they give them, how much they give, and the quality of what they give... these are all decided autonomously by the border army.

To put it bluntly, if Li Fei cannot solve these problems, it means he does not have the ability to command these three thousand-plus people!

Leading troops in battle has never been just about considering the fighting.

The Emperor let him command three thousand-plus martial artists.

This is a huge power, but it is also a major test.

Of course, considering that Li Fei had never had relevant experience before and had no foundation in the army, the Emperor specially had Feng Cheng send him a "As If I Were Personally Present" gold medal before he set off.

This medal is the Emperor's extra care and favor for Li Fei.

Li Fei's experience from his past life allowed him to see the tricks here at a glance, and at the same time, he was very clear about it.

Facing the current shortage of elixirs, he could indeed directly take out the "As If I Were Personally Present" medal to solve it.

He believed that as long as the Military Supplies Department saw this medal, they would absolutely not deliberately block him on elixirs again.

But he can take out the medal when he encounters a problem this time, what about when he encounters other problems next time?

Does he need to take out the medal to solve every little problem he encounters in the future?

If Li Fei uses the gold medal in his hand to solve problems from beginning to end, then in this major test, is the person "solving the problem" him or the Emperor?

Most importantly, this gold medal is only temporary; the ability to solve problems, connections, foundation, prestige, etc. —these are what truly belong to oneself.

Li Fei smiled, but it was just another form of cultivation.

Where in life is there no cultivation?

He said to the military officer who came to report:

"Alright, I know, you may go."

The military officer glanced at him, bowed, and retreated.

Soon, everyone in the entire camp knew about this.

Because the elixirs for replenishing energy had run out, today's training had to be forced to stop.

Everyone who had no training was discussing it in the camp, wanting to see how their current top boss would solve this problem?

Shaman-Killing City.

Military Department, command post.

"He only said 'I know', and then didn't take any action?"

Luo Xu asked.

"Yes, the Marquis of Jing'an has stayed in the camp all day today and has not left, nor has he taken any action."

The subordinate reported.

"Heh?"

Luo Xu smiled and waved his hand to signal the subordinate to retreat.

"In terms of Martial Dao cultivation, you are indeed more formidable, but in terms of officialdom cultivation, you are still too green."

Luo Xu shook his head.

Now it's a shortage of recovery elixirs; later there will be shortages of weapons, ammunition, protective gear, and all kinds of supplies.

As long as there are a few more such incidents, those three thousand-plus martial artists will understand who is truly in charge in this Northern Border! Who they can truly rely on!

In this way, when this battle ends in the future, Li Fei will have no way to stand firm and can only leave the Northern Border and go back to honestly being his Marquis of Jing'an.

And the remaining three thousand-plus martial artists will naturally be absorbed by the Northern Border Defense Army.

"Mr. Zhuang, do you think the move of sending Li Fei to the Northern Border was His Majesty's intention, or the Grand Secretary's intention?"

Luo Xu suddenly asked.

At this time, besides him, there was a middle-aged man in the room wearing a white robe and a jade hairpin.

This person was wearing the standard Dharma robe of the Zhengfa Pavilion, and judging by the grade of the robe, it was specially for a True Person!

This meant that this Mr. Zhuang was a True Person of the current age.

Zhuang Chen picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said slowly:

"Does the lord think there is any difference between the two?"

Luo Xu looked at him:

"If it is the Grand Secretary's intention, the other party moved against the Daoists first, then the Jianghu, and the next step seems to be to move against the border army."

"If it is His Majesty's intention... then Prince Cheng..."

He didn't finish his sentence, because he knew Zhuang Chen could understand his meaning.

Zhuang Chen shook his head: "I am more inclined to think that this is another tacit cooperation between the monarch and his subject."

"Oh?"

Luo Xu narrowed his eyes.

That pair of monarch and subject in the imperial court both check and balance each other, and cooperate with each other; the relationship is truly complex.

The result of their last tacit cooperation was a Mingxin Reform!

What will it be this time?

That night, a figure, as if invisible, left the camp without alerting anyone and entered Shaman-Killing City silently.

(End of chapter)