Chapter 525

Ande Province, Lingshou Prefecture.

The "Lingshou Lan Family," one of the seven great families, is located here.

On this day, the Lan mansion opened its middle gate early in the morning, luxury cars arrived one after another, stopped outside the Lan mansion, and big figures in Lingshou Prefecture came to visit one after another.

Among these big figures, there were people from the Lan family itself, as well as big figures from the Lingshou Prefecture government; even the Lingshou Prefecture Garrison Commander came to visit in person!

Just when people were wondering what big event had happened to the Lan family, a piece of news quickly spread in the city—

The Marquis of Jing'an, Li Fei, is visiting Lingshou Prefecture to have a martial arts competition with the Lan family ancestor, to make friends through martial arts!

Once the news came out, the whole city was shocked!

Almost all Jianghu people were rushing to the Lan family crazily, wanting to see if there was a chance to witness this battle.

Not to mention Grandmasters, even Martial Arts Grandmasters are big figures that many Jianghu people can hardly see in their lifetime.

Two Grandmasters competing in martial arts, and among them is the legendary Marquis of Jing'an—this battle is too attractive!

Lan mansion.

In the main hall, a man wearing brocade clothes, with a steady demeanor and a handsome appearance, sat in the main seat.

He is the current head of the Lan family, Lan Mingqian.

Besides him, several people in charge of the Lan family, as well as the Lingshou Prefecture Garrison Commander, the head of the Zhige General Academy, and other big figures were all present.

"Family Head."

A person holding a sword walked quickly into the main hall:

"Cousin Ruoyun has already met the Marquis of Jing'an outside the city and is entering the city with the Marquis!"

Hearing this, Lan Mingqian showed a smile:

"Good, go prepare."

After the person retreated, the Lingshou Prefecture Garrison Commander Ding Ze on the side immediately said with a smile:

"Ruoyun is the number one beauty in our Ande Province, and she is also a martial arts genius; she is already at the realm of Martial Arts Grandmaster at a young age. If she can tie the knot with the Marquis of Jing'an, it will be the good fortune of our Lingshou Prefecture!"

"Hahaha, it ultimately depends on whether she has this fate with the Marquis of Jing'an."

Ding Ze's words happened to hit Lan Mingqian's heart, and his smile became even brighter.

More than two years ago, when Li Fei had just been made a Marquis not long before and was passing through Lingshou Prefecture, he specifically arranged for his daughter Lan Ruoyun to challenge Li Fei, to make friends through martial arts.

In fact, at that time, he had the intention to match the two, hoping that his daughter could tie the knot with Li Fei.

It's a pity that Lan Ruoyun didn't have this intention at the time, and Li Fei didn't seem to have any special feelings for Lan Ruoyun either.

Now Li Fei is no longer what he used to be; his power, status, personal strength, reputation, etc., are all far beyond what they were back then!

If Lan Ruoyun had married Li Fei back then, the two families could be considered a strong alliance, and the Lan family's status might even have been higher.

But now, if Lan Ruoyun were to marry Li Fei, the Lan family would be considered to be climbing the social ladder!

It is no exaggeration to say that if the Lan family can form a marriage alliance with Li Fei, then from now on, it will not be one of the "seven great families."

The Lan family will instantly surpass the "three mountains, four sects, and seven great families" and become a Jianghu force second only to the Buddhist and Daoist sects, as well as the Tianyi Tower and the Hongchen Pavilion!

That is why Lan Mingqian tried his best to match Li Fei with his daughter.

After Li Fei's visiting card was delivered, he immediately let Lan Ruoyun go to greet him, creating an opportunity for the two to be alone.

In his view, age, talent, family background, appearance—all these factors added together, his own daughter is not to say the most suitable for Li Fei, but she can definitely be ranked in the top three!

Unless Li Fei is completely uninterested in women, he should consider it no matter what.

Outside Lingshou Prefecture city, on a flying boat.

A woman wrapped in white clothes, with eyebrows like willows and eyes like autumn water, standing side by side with Li Fei like a white crane on the clouds.

The first Jianghu force Li Fei chose to ask for swordsmanship was the Lan family.

The move 【Lan Yin Xu Guo】 that Lan Ruoyun used when she fought him back then left a deep impression on him.

This Dao strength move is a unique skill of the Lan family, which can be practiced to the Creation Realm at the highest!

And this is also a sword technique, which is just suitable for Li Fei's 【Wanxiang】.

"After parting back then, I didn't expect that now I don't even have the qualifications to fight with the Marquis."

On the flying boat, Lan Ruoyun gave a self-deprecating smile.

More than two years ago, she could at least fight back and forth with Li Fei.

But now, Li Fei has come to Lingshou Prefecture again, but he is asking for swordsmanship from the strongest Grandmaster of the Lan family!

After she fought Li Fei back then, she only felt that the other party was "barbaric and rude," and it was really suffocating to fight.

Looking at it now, it was her own shallowness.

Lan Ruoyun considers her talent not bad, and she has never been slack for a day, but compared with the one beside her, she still feels a huge sense of frustration.

Li Fei looked at the city in the distance and said indifferently:

"Miss Lan, don't belittle yourself. Climbing the martial arts path is not a matter of a moment. With Miss Lan's talent, it is not necessarily impossible for us to meet at the peak in the future."

Lan Ruoyun turned her head and looked at Li Fei's side profile seriously:

"Meet at the peak?"

She savored this word repeatedly, and her eyes became brighter and brighter.

"Thank you, Marquis, for your encouragement."

Afterwards, she didn't take the initiative to speak again and stood quietly on the flying boat.

Lan Ruoyun certainly understands her father's meaning, but she is only focused on climbing the martial arts path and doesn't care much about the feelings between men and women.

Of course, she is not repulsed by taking the initiative to contact Li Fei.

Otherwise, even if the family head spoke in person, with her current realm and status, she could completely ignore it.

It was her own willingness to come, so she came.

It's just that Li Fei didn't seem to have any other meaning, and Lan Ruoyun didn't force it; the two just entered the city quietly on the flying boat.

The flying boat finally landed outside the main gate of the Lan mansion.

At this time, the Lan mansion was already surrounded by people, mostly Jianghu people who came after hearing the news.

Seeing Li Fei and Lan Ruoyun, there was a sudden commotion.

However, there were Lan family members maintaining order on the periphery, making these people unable to get close.

"Hahaha, greetings to the Marquis of Jing'an, greetings to Cabinet Head Li!"

Lan family head Lan Mingqian took the initiative to go out to greet them with a group of people, laughing and bowing with cupped hands.

This time Li Fei submitted the visiting card in the capacity of the head of the Lan Xun Cabinet, so Lan Mingqian addressed him as Cabinet Head Li.

"Greetings, Senior Lan."

Li Fei bowed back.

Afterwards, Lan Mingqian led him into the main gate of the Lan mansion.

This made the Jianghu people on the periphery feel a burst of disappointment.

It seems that this martial arts competition is a closed-door exchange, and these people have no chance to watch.

"Cabinet Head Li, our ancestor is already waiting in the martial arts arena."

Lan Mingqian led Li Fei all the way forward into the Lan mansion.

"Good, thank you for your trouble."

"Cabinet Head Li is too polite."

As the two spoke, the group soon arrived beside a huge martial arts arena.

Standing in the center of the martial arts arena was a man wearing a white outer robe, a high crown on his head, looking even younger than Lan Mingqian, with a clear and handsome appearance.

The appearance of the people in charge of this branch of the Lan family is extraordinary, otherwise Lan Ruoyun would not have been able to become a beauty famous in the Jianghu.

This man waiting in the martial arts arena is the Lan family ancestor, a generation of Grandmaster—Lan Tingzhou.

Lan Tingzhou's appearance and demeanor are both extraordinary, but the first thing everyone sees when walking into the martial arts arena is not him, but the long sword he is leaning on the ground with his palm.

The extremely sharp sword intent is like substance, covering the entire martial arts arena, as if cutting the space apart, making the martial arts arena completely independent from heaven and earth!

All martial artists except Li Fei sensed danger at the first moment and did not dare to take a step into the martial arts arena.

Seeing this, Li Fei's eyes lit up.

It seems that Lan Tingzhou's attitude toward this battle is quite serious and he does not intend to just go through the motions.

This made Lan Mingqian on the side show a look of worry.

His own ancestor has been stuck in the Shenyan Realm for many years, while Li Fei single-handedly killed a Shengjie Realm Xu Jing before breaking through the realm.

The battle on the Bai Feng Plain was even more of a single-handed kill of the Gouchen Sword Master Benefactor Bai Chen!

Now that Li Fei's realm has risen to a higher level, Lan Mingqian does not think his ancestor is Li Fei's opponent.

In his view, since Li Fei visited in the capacity of the head of the Lan Xun Cabinet, it is clear that his intention is not in the wine; the martial arts competition is not the point.

So it's just a casual exchange.

But Lan Tingzhou put on such a serious posture; if he provoked Li Fei to also get serious, it would be hard to end.

It's a pity that Lan Mingqian couldn't decide anything.

Li Fei stepped forward without hesitation and walked into the martial arts arena:

"Greetings, Senior Lan!"

As he stepped into the martial arts arena, everything outside disappeared, and only that person and that sword in front remained in his eyes.

"Cabinet Head Li."

Lan Tingzhou looked at Li Fei seriously, "Did Benefactor Bai Chen die under your blade?"

Li Fei nodded.

Lan Tingzhou showed a bitter smile and sighed with emotion:

"I have lost to Benefactor Bai Chen three times in my life. Over these years, I have been practicing swordsmanship and understanding swordsmanship, just to have a chance to win back once. It's a pity that there is no chance anymore."

He and Gouchen Sword Master Benefactor Bai Chen were of the same generation; when both were Martial Arts Grandmasters, they had a public duel.

In that battle, Lan Tingzhou lost by one move.

Later, Lan Tingzhou broke through to become a Grandmaster with four divine abilities, one step ahead of Benefactor Bai Chen.

After Benefactor Bai Chen also became a Grandmaster, he challenged Benefactor Bai Chen to a battle again.

But this time the loss was very obvious; he was defeated by Benefactor Bai Chen in just over two hundred moves.

After that, Benefactor Bai Chen broke through to the Shenyan Realm one step ahead, and Lan Tingzhou, who broke through first, broke through to the Shenyan Realm nearly twenty years later.

The two fought for the third time; this battle was unknown to anyone, and the final result was Lan Tingzhou's miserable defeat!

He barely managed to hold on for less than a hundred moves before being defeated by Benefactor Bai Chen.

Three battles, three losses; Lan Tingzhou had always been brooding over it.

But he never had a chance to win back.

"Over these years, I have understood three sword moves, prepared specifically for Benefactor Bai Chen. Since Benefactor Bai Chen died under Cabinet Head Li's blade, would the Cabinet Head be willing to take my three sword moves?"

Lan Tingzhou asked.

He is over a hundred years old, more than five times Li Fei's age, and his seniority is even greater, but now he says he wants Li Fei to take his three sword moves, taking the initiative to put himself in the position of a challenger.

"I would be more than happy to."

Li Fei readily agreed.

"Good—"

Lan Tingzhou drew his sword!

Clang—

The clear sword sound echoed through the Lan mansion.

Without seeing a trace of sword light, the entire martial arts arena was covered by a sea of clouds.

In the mist, Li Fei completely lost his perception of the outside world.

There were only white clouds, only the sound of the wind; the sharp sword intent that was about to split the space also dissipated like smoke, as if everything was just an illusion.

"Cloud Heaven Sword Canon"—【Cloud Sea Hiding Sword】!

The same move, Li Fei had seen it in Lan Ruoyun's hands outside the train station.

Used by Lan Tingzhou at this moment, perfectly combined with the martial arts domain, Li Fei couldn't even perceive the martial arts domain.

The heaven and earth in his eyes had been magnified dozens of times; around him, the sea of clouds surged, mountain mists towered, and ancient pine trees grew on the mountain cliffs.

The mountain mists around were like groups of ink stains that had been spread, and Li Fei's eyes were only black and white.

The ancient pines by the cliff moved without wind, and the pine needles that were shaken off turned into strands of sword Qi, merging with the floating clouds in the mountain stream, and strands of cloud fluff surged toward Li Fei from all directions like a tide!

Golden light bloomed from Li Fei's body, covering a radius of one hundred meters.

He unfolded the 【Hunyuan Sword Realm】, but specifically reduced the range of the sword realm, only used to resist the other party's martial arts domain, so that he wouldn't even be able to use his divine abilities.

But he did not rely on the strength of the 【Hunyuan Sword Realm】 to suppress the other party's martial arts domain.

Li Fei wanted to let Lan Tingzhou fully display these three sword moves!

Countless cloud fluffs entered the 【Hunyuan Sword Realm】, all turning into nothingness, like dream bubbles.

Li Fei's perception was fully open, but he couldn't capture a trace of dangerous aura.

Suddenly, the golden light on his body shook violently, but it was constantly impacted by strands of invisible sword Qi!

"This move is called 【Cloud Ink】."

Lan Tingzhou's voice entered the sword realm.

This move was derived from 【Cloud Sea Hiding Sword】 and went a step further, merging with the martial arts domain and the changes of the Shenyan Realm; not only was its power greater, but the sword Qi was traceless, making it difficult to capture.

Li Fei's perception of sword Qi in the 【Hunyuan Sword Realm】 had reached a meticulous level, yet he didn't perceive the trace of sword Qi.

"Creation Realm!"

Li Fei's eyes lit up, adding a bit of joy.

He had originally thought that this battle could at most witness the creation-level sword art 【Lan Yin Xu Guo】, but he didn't expect to witness an unexpected creation sword art in the first move!

The Dao strength of the Xuanjing Realm can mobilize the power of heaven and earth and affect the minds of everyone within the range.

The Dao strength of the Creation Realm goes a step further; it is not a divine ability but is similar to a divine ability, capable of creating effects similar to divine abilities.

Lan Tingzhou's move 【Cloud Ink】 is equivalent to endowing the sword Qi with a certain type of concealment divine ability.

This undoubtedly had already reached the level of the Creation Realm!

The golden light on Li Fei's body flickered constantly, but it was never broken through.

Lan Tingzhou's move 【Cloud Ink】 is strong in concealment, but slightly weaker in attack.

Li Fei's defense was already excellent; after using the 【Hunyuan Sword Realm】 to weaken the sword Qi, he almost didn't feel a threat.

Boom—

Ten thousand peaks all rang.

The ink-like cloud layer split a line of sky light, revealing the craggy sword-spine mountain shadows behind it. The mountain shadows were actually flowing, the overlapping rock edges turned into sword blade cold light, and the flying waterfalls turned into falling sword Qi.

The offensive of 【Cloud Ink】 went a step further!

Li Fei saw it; Lan Tingzhou should possess more than one divine ability capable of continuously increasing the offensive, all of which were integrated into 【Cloud Ink】.

So this Lan family ancestor is the type who gets stronger the more he fights.

Li Fei wanted to witness the other party's strongest posture, so he didn't dodge or evade, letting the other party act.

After a while, the sword Qi had turned into a storm, staining the 【Hunyuan Sword Realm】 with large groups of ink.

Lan Tingzhou not only possessed a divine ability capable of continuously increasing the offensive but also possessed a certain divine ability capable of infecting others; combined with his Shenyan Realm changes, this move 【Cloud Ink】 was truly like ink constantly spreading on rice paper, infecting Li Fei's 【Hunyuan Sword Realm】!

When the golden light on Li Fei's body was also stained with a layer of ink, he finally stopped defending.

And his counterattack was very simple and rough—

【Hunyuan Sword Realm】 fully unfolded!

The golden light ball spread rapidly among the ink landscape, with the force of a broken bamboo.

"Hmm?"

Lan Tingzhou was surprised in his heart.

Li Fei's martial arts cultivation base was clearly only at the Shenyan Realm, but the strength of the martial arts domain at this moment had already reached the level of the Lidao Realm.

This is simply incredible!

Strands of brilliant Buddha light shone down from the dome, illuminating the ink landscape world created by Lan Tingzhou into gold.

【Cloud Ink】 was broken!

Immediately after, pieces of ink clouds opened at the dome, and rain fell.

Cloud smoke turned into rain.

At first, it was as thin as silk, but in the blink of an eye, it became a downpour of ink.

The falling raindrops elongated in mid-air, turning into sword Qi and falling.

Mountain rocks produced smoke when meeting rain.

Ink-colored sword Qi seeped into the rock veins, and mountain peaks were dyed into burnt ink one after another; the sword intent was as cold as ice, freezing the sword Qi within the 【Hunyuan Sword Realm】!

"Second sword—【Cloud Rain】, paying respects to the Marquis of Jing'an."

Lan Tingzhou's voice sounded again.

Compared with the move 【Cloud Ink】 just now, the offensive of this sword was even sharper; under the circumstance that the sword momentum had already accumulated to the peak, it went a step further!

"Good."

Li Fei praised.

This move 【Cloud Rain】 actually didn't reach the Creation Realm, but Lan Tingzhou made changes on the basis of 【Cloud Ink】, perfectly inheriting the momentum of the previous sword, making it possible for its power to go a step further even though it hadn't reached the Creation Realm!

Such clever ideas gave Li Fei new ideas.

He probably wouldn't be able to break through his Dao strength to the Creation Realm in a short time, but he could learn from Lan Tingzhou, using various means to superimpose sword momentum, thereby making the power of the sword art go a step further.

Li Fei raised his right hand, and mountain peaks and rivers were generated in the 【Hunyuan Sword Realm】, then turned into billions of golden rays gathering in his hand, turning into a three-foot sword blade.

He stabbed a sword toward the dome.

Mountains and rivers reversed their momentum, breaking through the firmament!

"Good—"

Lan Tingzhou's tone added a bit of excitement.

Because he recognized that Li Fei's sword was exactly the creation sword art of the Gouchen Sword Sect—"Daqian."

He didn't expect Li Fei to have practiced this sword art; this undoubtedly made up for his regret of not being able to fight Benefactor Bai Chen again.

The sword momentum condensing the Daqian world pierced the firmament, dispersing the ink clouds.

Even if Li Fei's "Daqian" hadn't reached the Creation Realm, with the terrifying strength of the 【Hunyuan Sword Realm】, it was enough to make up for it.

【Cloud Rain】 was thus broken!

But immediately after, ten thousand mountains and rivers reversed back from the broken firmament.

Heaven and earth reversed, reversing yin and yang!

Lan family unique skill—【Lan Yin Xu Guo】!

This creation sword art is somewhat similar to divine abilities like 【Thorn Armor】, but the difference is that it doesn't rebound the strength, but the move itself.

Cloud ink turned into rain, lingering between the mountains and rivers, covering Li Fei together.

Lan Tingzhou was equivalent to adding his own power on top of Li Fei's "Daqian" sword, and then rebounding it back!

The timing was just right; Li Fei was like giving himself a full-force punch, and he couldn't dodge or change moves to defend at all.

If another Lidao Realm Grandmaster came, he might really be injured by this blow.

But Li Fei simply activated his divine ability to break this move—

Two golden big characters appeared out of thin air between heaven and earth like two big talismans, instantly suppressing the mountains, rivers, and cloud ink that covered him.

【Jing'an】!

Within the territory of the Great Lan Dynasty, combat power was added, and a great force was generated out of thin air, forcibly blocking Lan Tingzhou's counterattack.

After one breath, the power of the 【Jing'an】 divine ability was defeated, but it also bought enough time for Li Fei.

He drew the Ghost-Slaying Blade and slashed upward, dyeing heaven and earth red with fierce strength.

【Heaven and Earth One Blade】!

After one blade, the mountains, rivers, cloud ink, and smoke rain all dissipated!

On the martial arts arena, all the gorgeous light dissipated, revealing the figures of the two again.

Lan Tingzhou had already sheathed his sword.

He looked at the young man not far away, his expression filled with emotion:

"Worthy of being the number one in history, it is I who lost."

He took the initiative to admit defeat.

Actually, if Li Fei hadn't intentionally let him act just now, he would have been defeated faster!

"You are too kind."

Li Fei bowed back.

He was also very satisfied with this battle, not only witnessing two creation-level Dao strengths but also broadening his ideas.

At the same time, he also had a preliminary estimate of his own combat power.

Just now, fighting with Lan Tingzhou, he didn't consume a single blood soul, nor did he use the strongest offensive means of 【Blood Rage】 + 【Dragon Elephant】, and he easily defeated his opponent like this!

"In Cabinet Head Li's view, if I were to fight Benefactor Bai Chen, would I have a chance of winning?"

Lan Tingzhou suddenly asked.

Li Fei thought for a while: "If it were a battle of the same realm, I would have a thirty percent chance of winning."

"Thirty percent?"

Lan Tingzhou was first dejected, then laughed loudly:

"Well, to be able to fight with Cabinet Head Li, I have no regrets in this life!"

Hearing the conversation between the two, the people on the sidelines had different expressions.

They knew that Lan Tingzhou was likely not Li Fei's match, but they thought that the two sides could at least fight back and forth for a while.

But they didn't expect that in less than three minutes, a Grandmaster-level martial arts competition ended like this?

For a time, everyone looked at Li Fei's back, and the awe in their eyes became even stronger.

Lan Ruoyun heard her ancestor say the words "no regrets in this life" and felt deeply.

Others might think that Lan Tingzhou was taking the initiative to flatter Li Fei.

But she, as someone who had fought Li Fei before, immediately understood Lan Tingzhou's meaning—

Perhaps it won't be long before he doesn't even have the qualifications to fight Li Fei!

So taking advantage of the fact that Li Fei hasn't reached the peak yet, being able to fight him is indeed a fortunate thing.

Afterwards, Lan Tingzhou invited Li Fei to sit down and drink tea together, while Lan Mingqian, Lan Ruoyun, and others accompanied them on the side.

The two Grandmasters exchanged some martial arts insights, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

"The Buddhist sect is rampant, plotting rebellion and killing the Emperor. As the head of the Lan Xun Cabinet, I want to gather the power of the Jianghu to share the worries of the country."

At a certain moment, Li Fei took the initiative to mention this matter.

He looked at Lan Tingzhou: "I wonder if the Lan family is willing to contribute?"

Lan Tingzhou looked at Lan Mingqian on the side: "I have been obsessed with martial arts for these years and haven't intervened in family affairs for a long time. Since Cabinet Head Li has this intention, why not talk to Mingqian."

So Li Fei also looked at Lan Mingqian.

Lan Mingqian's expression was gentle, and he smiled: "My Lan family has been taken care of by the imperial court, and many family members are officials in the court, so naturally, we are willing to contribute."

He agreed very simply, but soon began to describe his family's difficulties.

If Li Fei just wanted the Lan family to send a few more experts to join the Lan Xun Cabinet, he would definitely agree without hesitation.

But Li Fei wanted the Lan family to stand with the imperial court and deal with the Buddhist sect together.

This was not a simple matter.

Lan Mingqian talked for a long time, and the meaning between the lines was only one—

If Li Fei could have a closer relationship with the Lan family, then the Lan family would naturally be willing to help with all their might!

This hint was already very obvious; Lan Ruoyun on the side lowered her head to drink tea.

She originally thought she would be shy and angry.

But it seems... she doesn't feel repulsed.

(End of chapter)