Chapter 545: The Mansion is About to Collapse

Lanling City, Grand Marshal's Mansion.

On the training grounds.

Clad in golden armor, Li Fei swung his fist toward Wenren Zheng, who stood before him. The air was instantly drained away, and the vacuum pulled at the blue bricks on the ground, causing them to explode upward!

Wenren Zheng wore a black martial arts uniform, without the battle armor formed by a martial arts domain.

He raised his hand to block the fist aimed directly at his face and lashed out with his left leg from below.

Li Fei kicked out almost simultaneously, intercepting the opponent's leg.

Bang!

A thunderous explosion rang out across the training grounds, and a ring-shaped sonic boom spread outward, grinding the flying stone fragments into dust.

Cracks appeared on the armor covering Li Fei's right leg, and he was kicked off the ground, flying backward.

He immediately utilized 【No Distance】 to vanish, taking advantage of the momentum to dissipate the impact force on his body.

But just as he emerged from the spatial fold, Wenren Zheng's fist was already coming toward his face!

Li Fei crossed his arms to brace against the blow; his armor emitted a dull thud, and the ground beneath his feet collapsed violently.

Layer upon layer of mountain and river phantoms shattered under Wenren Zheng's fist!

Li Fei vanished from his spot once more, instantly appearing behind Wenren Zheng, and slammed an elbow into the center of his back.

Wenren Zheng let Li Fei strike him; it was as if stars had lit up within the acupuncture points on his back, repelling all the incoming force.

He twisted his waist, turned, and raised his left knee to strike Li Fei's ribs.

Bang—

Li Fei was sent flying again.

This God of War's fighting style was simple and direct, not complex at all.

First, it was powerful and heavy—so powerful that even if Li Fei used 【Blood Rage】 at full capacity and enhanced it tenfold with the 【Dragon Elephant】 divine ability, he still couldn't compare!

Second, it was fast as lightning—so fast that Li Fei couldn't continuously use 【No Distance】 to dodge within a gap of less than 0.1 seconds!

Li Fei slid backward, suddenly twisted his waist, and pushed his palms forward.

The sun and moon wheels, the array of a thousand mountains, and the cascading heavenly river condensed into a brilliant line, as if Li Fei had merged the heavens and earth between his palms—

【Unaware of the Height of Heaven】!

The next instant, an iron fist with a metallic luster roared in, shattering this line of heaven and earth.

Like a heavy cavalry charge, striking straight at the enemy's head, crushing everything in its path!

Boom—

The entire training ground had been reinforced by divine abilities and protected by arrays, yet the ground still continued to shatter and collapse.

Rubble crumbled into the sky, and gray clouds fell slowly.

Li Fei was repelled again, dodged with 【No Distance】, and was then caught up to by Wenren Zheng again.

The two figures collided again and again amidst the sky-filling dust.

Both of their Qi and blood were as scorching as the great sun, and every collision exploded like a thunderclap!

It wasn't until the entire training ground was completely destroyed into a ruin, becoming a giant pit sunken into the earth, that the two stopped fighting.

The armor on Li Fei's body was like porcelain about to shatter, covered in cracks.

Meanwhile, Wenren Zheng, in his black martial arts uniform, hadn't even been touched by dust.

"Not bad."

Wenren Zheng nodded in approval at Li Fei. "You are already stronger than the two Western Continent princes who died under my fists back then."

Previously, Ning Qingman had personally commented on Li Fei's strength, believing he was already comparable to a Western Continent prince.

Now, Wenren Zheng gave an even higher evaluation.

As a Martial Saint who had personally killed two princes, his evaluation was naturally more convincing.

This meant that Li Fei was no longer just potentially ranked in the top thirty in the world, but had firmly entered the top thirty!

"Thank you for your guidance, Marshal."

Li Fei cupped his fists and bowed to Wenren Zheng.

His fighting style was very similar to this God of War, so the guidance during this period had indeed benefited him greatly.

Both relied on power to suppress others, and Wenren Zheng had taught Li Fei a lot.

Li Fei's power was indeed very strong; because of his Flying Sword Body, his power was also sufficiently concentrated, almost perfectly explosive.

But in terms of combining reality and illusion, switching between offense and defense, and the rhythm of attacks, he still appeared somewhat "immature."

This "immaturity" was not reflected in his moves, but in his experience.

The Great Dao is simple; every move Wenren Zheng made pointed directly to the core, always capable of causing the greatest damage to Li Fei's 【Hunyuan Sword Realm】!

This kind of combat technique was the most critical link in battles at the Grandmaster level.

After all, Li Fei had only recently broken through his realm. Although he had consecutively defeated many Grandmasters, he had won without suspense, and his opponents had found it difficult to even shake his 【Hunyuan Sword Realm】, naturally failing to provide Li Fei with much experience.

Now, after being repeatedly "hammered" by Wenren Zheng, Li Fei had finally filled this gap.

"The Northern Barbarians have also sent troops. Does the Grand Marshal have a countermeasure?"

After the sparring ended, Li Fei began to inquire about national affairs.

The news that the nine tribes of the Northern Barbarians had joined forces, with Boerhu as their commander, and a million-strong army was marching south, had just reached Lanling City today.

First, the two desert nations had sent troops, and then the Grassland Wang Ting had declared war.

Now, the Northern Barbarians were also joining the fray.

Bad news followed one after another, and the entire capital was in a state of panic.

In the imperial court, the civil and military officials were also filled with fear.

Wenren Zheng looked at Li Fei: "What are your thoughts?"

Li Fei said solemnly: "We just fight!"

"Hahahahaha—"

Wenren Zheng laughed loudly, his voice shaking the clouds:

"Well said!"

He nodded with satisfaction: "If the imperial court were all of your mettle, even if the whole world were our enemy, what would our Great Lan Dynasty have to fear?"

His tone carried a hint of mockery and a hint of anger.

Li Fei knew why.

When the two desert nations invaded the southern border, there were still many voices in the court supporting the deployment of troops.

But when the Grassland Wang Ting suddenly declared war on the Great Lan Dynasty, some officials began to feel fear.

People in the court began to propose "peace talks," even going so far as to suggest ceding territory and marriage alliances!

Now that the million-strong Northern Barbarian army was attacking, there would only be more cowards among the court officials.

"At tomorrow's Grand Court Meeting, I will request His Majesty's permission to lead the army on an expedition!"

Li Fei said decisively.

Wenren Zheng nodded, his expression somewhat lonely.

If he could, how could he not want to lead the army on an expedition and sweep across all directions?

But in the current situation, neither the civil and military officials nor the Emperor would allow him to leave Lanling City.

With the current national destiny of the Great Lan Dynasty, if any accident were to happen to Lanling City, the hub of the nation, it would truly be not far from the fall of the country!

Wenren Zheng was now the Great Lan Dynasty's last reliance; not only could he not be moved lightly, but he didn't even dare to let himself suffer any serious injuries.

Otherwise, how could he have let go of the opportunity to kill Qin Mingli back then?

This destined him to be unable to act as freely as Li Fei.

After leaving the Grand Marshal's Mansion, Li Fei headed to the Imperial City, going directly to the office of the Central Cabinet.

He walked into the pavilion prepared for him by the Supervisory Cabinet, ordered his subordinates to gather information, and sat in his seat, closing his eyes to rest and summarize his gains during this period.

From the time the Myriad Blood Bead reached level 50 and condensed the first blood crystal until now, less than two months had passed.

In these less than two months, Li Fei had raised the Myriad Blood Bead to level 63!

During this time, he went to the Grand Marshal's Mansion every few days to be hammered by Wenren Zheng, so Wenren Zheng had made the greatest contribution to the upgrade of the Myriad Blood Bead.

Besides that, the 【Refined Gold Fire Quenching】 of the Ghost Slaying Blade made his body endure damage every second, thereby allowing the Myriad Blood Bead to absorb energy.

Previously, he could only spare two to three hours a day to specifically absorb the heaven and earth origin Qi to attack himself, thereby absorbing energy.

Now, he was absorbing energy 24 hours a day, which increased his efficiency more than tenfold!

This was the reason for the Myriad Blood Bead's rapid upgrade.

After reaching level 60, as Li Fei had expected, a second blood crystal was condensed.

The blood soul skill corresponding to this blood crystal was 【Blood Sha】, which happened to be the second blood soul skill Li Fei had unlocked.

From then on, 【Blood Sha】 no longer needed to consume blood souls.

In addition to the improvement of the Myriad Blood Bead, Li Fei had also incorporated the sixth-grade fire-attribute implant 【Fierce Mountain Armor】.

He already had ideas for the implant to follow the 【Fierce Mountain Armor】.

Next, he only needed to wait for the 【Fierce Mountain Armor】 to reach the Qi Transformation stage before he could incorporate a second type of implant.

Li Fei estimated that he would only need to incorporate four to five types of implants to raise his Flying Sword Body from the Earth level to the Heaven level, thereby balancing magic and martial arts, allowing his realm to further improve.

"Marquis."

More than an hour later, the subordinate Li Fei had sent to gather information returned:

"This subordinate has inquired through many channels; the various lords of the Central Cabinet were greatly shaken after learning the news of the million-strong Northern Barbarian army. Currently, the Supervisory Cabinet, the Inspection Cabinet..."

The subordinate reported the information he had gathered one by one.

As Li Fei had expected, there were even more officials who wanted peace talks!

"This subordinate also found out that several cabinet elders in the Judicial Cabinet believe that they can confer titles and make promises to those top-tier experts in the Jianghu, promising to reward these experts with the desert, grassland, and other areas in the future, in exchange for their help."

Upon hearing this, Li Fei couldn't help but laugh.

Having such thoughts showed that these officials in the imperial court didn't understand top-tier experts at all.

No one who became a top-tier expert step by step did so for wealth and status.

They were either single-mindedly seeking the Dao or had ambitions to achieve great things.

Wen Xuexian, the Pavilion Master of the Red Dust Pavilion, sought a Dao that required cutting off all karma; how could she abandon her own Great Dao for some official position or fiefdom just to intervene in these matters?

That Sect Master of the Feathered Sect was still in closed-door cultivation seeking a breakthrough, and it was even more impossible for him to rashly come out of seclusion to fight to the death for these matters.

As for Tai Yu of the Daluo Sect, he probably wished for the imperial court and the Buddhist sect to fight until both were defeated, preferably until both died out.

And then there was that number one person in the world; everyone knew what the other party sought—beyond the peak!

When Lin Tianyi broke through to the peak, he proved his Dao with force and didn't disdain to borrow power at all.

I seek my own Dao!

The replacement of dynasties, the rise and fall of the world, whether it was a peaceful and prosperous age or a time of war and smoke—this number one person in the world probably didn't care at all.

As for the remaining top-tier experts, the three evil demons might be moved by profit.

But not to mention that once the imperial court used the three evil demons, its reputation would be ruined instantly.

Just speaking of the three evil demons, compared to helping the imperial court deal with others, wasn't the Central Plains more prosperous? More "delicious"?

Just like how the Buddhist sect would plot against the Great Lan Dynasty but wouldn't consider occupying the two desert nations or the Grassland Wang Ting first.

If you can take gold directly, why go pick up the straw next to it?

Moreover, for the three evil demons, the less order there was, the freer people like them would be.

It would be better if the world were in chaos!

Counting them one by one, the only top-tier expert who might help was that warm-hearted Sword Immortal.

But the grievances between the Ning family and the imperial court were there; if she hadn't been disheartened, Ning Qingman wouldn't have chosen to be a rogue cultivator.

The other party's willingness to save the people of Tancheng previously was more to resolve the knot in her heart from back then.

So Li Fei wasn't sure that Ning Qingman would definitely help.

"Perhaps if I change my sword a few more times, I can move her?"

With this bizarre thought flashing through his mind, Li Fei laughed at himself.

After gathering the information, he stood up and left, returning to his Marquis Mansion.

To continue his cultivation.

The next morning, the Grand Court Meeting was held.

In the main hall, the hundred officials gathered.

"The nine tribes of the Northern Barbarians have raised a million troops and are now about to invade our northern border!"

"Now that our Great Lan Dynasty is at war on all three borders, you are all the pillars of our Great Lan Dynasty; do you have any good strategies?"

Above the imperial steps, Qin Ziheng asked.

"Your Majesty!"

A cabinet elder of the Internal Affairs Cabinet immediately stepped out and said loudly:

"Our Great Lan Dynasty is currently facing internal and external troubles, and the seven Western Continent nations are looking across the sea, eyeing us covetously; it is truly not suitable to start another war!"

On the dragon throne, Qin Ziheng was expressionless:

"Then what does the minister think should be done?"

The cabinet elder bowed and said:

"This old minister believes that we can negotiate for peace!"

"Absurd!"

As soon as he finished speaking, another official stood out and said furiously:

"How can there be a war in this world that ends in peace without fighting? Calling it peace talks is actually begging for mercy! How can a person like you have the face to wear this official uniform?!"

The scolded cabinet elder straightened up and retorted furiously:

"Is this old man thinking of peace talks for his own selfish interests? In the current situation, blindly being tough will only waste national strength! Only by enduring humiliation can we see the light of day!"

The two's mutual scolding immediately drew in more officials, who joined in one after another.

In the imperial court, the pro-war faction and the peace-talk faction were clearly divided.

Out of the ten officials who stood out, seven advocated for peace talks!

Among them, some were truly thinking for the good of the country, truly feeling that they were acting for the country and the people, and feeling that this battle should not be fought.

The Great Lan Dynasty was in too much need of recuperation!

"Grand Marshal."

After the officials finished arguing for a round, Qin Ziheng spoke:

"Do you think we should fight or negotiate?"

Wenren Zheng stood up, his voice like a booming bell:

"Of course we must fight!"

"Oh?"

Qin Ziheng looked at him, "Does the Grand Marshal have a strategy for certain victory?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty."

Wenren Zheng stood straight, like a towering mountain:

"The two desert nations have been weak for many years, and their combat-ready troops are less than 300,000; once the Qingshuang Army arrives, we will surely defeat the enemy!"

"The Grassland Wang Ting has just experienced internal strife; it looks menacing, but in reality, the hearts of the people are unstable. Our Eastern Border is guarded by the Bai Yan Army; even if they have a million archers, they will find it difficult to cross the line!"

"Although the Northern Barbarian army is large in number, its foundation is insufficient; we only need to send experts to lead the army, behead the generals, and seize the flags, and the danger to the northern border can be resolved!"

In a few words, he clarified the situation on the three borders.

The two desert nations on the southern border posed the least threat, and the Great Lan Dynasty sending the Qingshuang Army there had the highest chance of winning.

The Grassland Wang Ting was the strongest, but Wenren Zheng believed that with the Bai Yan Army stationed there, the Eastern Border could at least be defended, and there would be no problems in the short term.

As for the Northern Barbarians, without the Qingshuang Army, relying only on the 100,000 border troops of the Northern Border to block a million-strong army was indeed too difficult, so the imperial court needed to send people to support them.

"Therefore, we only need to stabilize the defense lines of the Eastern and Northern Borders, and wait for the Qingshuang Army to quell the war on the Southern Border before providing support, and all three borders will be pacified!"

Wenren Zheng finally said.

His strategy was not without loopholes.

It was just that this Grand Marshal was the only pillar of the imperial court, and the officials didn't dare to speak out in rebuttal for a while.

Qin Ziheng looked at him: "Then who does the Marshal think should be sent to lead the army to support the Northern Border?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a figure in golden robes stood out from the front row.

"Your subject is willing to lead the army on an expedition to support the Northern Border!"

The person who stepped out was Li Fei.

His Killing Barbarian Army was on the Northern Border, and Li Tianyu was still leading the army for him there.

So, both publicly and privately, he should choose to go to the Northern Border to provide support.

Seeing Li Fei stand out, many officials who intended to speak fell silent again.

After this Marquis of Jing'an swept through the Jianghu and consecutively defeated various Grandmasters, his reputation had risen to a higher level.

Later, joining forces with the Sword Immortal to defeat the two great evil demons pushed his reputation to a peak!

Now, the hundred officials of the court had basically determined one thing—

Li Fei was the second strongest person in the Great Lan Dynasty, second only to Wenren Zheng!

He was also the sharpest sword of the Great Lan Dynasty, besides Wenren Zheng and the Imperial Guard Army!

His standing out to express his willingness to support the Northern Border at least gave some people confidence.

But, it was not enough.

"Your Majesty, your subject is willing to go with the Marquis of Jing'an to support the Northern Border!"

Another figure stood out.

This person was not wearing an official uniform, but a Daoist robe, appearing somewhat out of place in the imperial court.

But no one dared to underestimate this person.

In fact, the degree of importance attached to him was even higher than that of Li Fei!

This person was the newly promoted Deputy Pavilion Master of the Judicial Cabinet, True Person Xuanchen of the Shangqing Sect.

Xuanchen stood out, representing not only himself but also the Shangqing Sect behind him.

His willingness to support the Northern Border meant that at a critical moment, that True Lord Xuanxin might take action!

With one top-tier expert plus Li Fei, it seemed that the million-strong Northern Barbarian army was not invincible after all.

"Good!"

Qin Ziheng was overjoyed, "With two pillars of the nation sharing my worries and killing enemies for the country, why worry about the war going poorly?"

His majestic gaze swept across everyone present: "My mind is made up!"

The officials cupped their hands one after another.

"Order Marquis of Jing'an Li Fei and Xuanchen of the Judicial Cabinet to lead 100,000 Imperial Guards north!"

The Son of Heaven's voice rolled out from the Zheng Lan Hall.

After the Grand Court Meeting ended, the officials walked out of the main hall in twos and threes.

Everyone was whispering and discussing.

Everyone noticed that today in the main hall, when the Son of Heaven asked about national affairs, he made a decision directly without asking for the opinion of the Chief Grand Secretary.

And Ye Zean remained silent from beginning to end, without expressing his stance.

Combined with the attitude of the Internal Affairs Cabinet, many people realized one thing—

Perhaps this Chief Grand Secretary did not approve of the war.

With so many peace-talk factions in the court today, and the Chief Grand Secretary not expressing support for the war, even if the Son of Heaven, the Grand Marshal, and the Marquis of Jing'an reached a consensus, would the subsequent war really go smoothly?

Moreover, the strategy proposed by Wenren Zheng was actually very idealistic.

The Qingshuang Army had been fighting continuously; would there be no attrition?

That Great Man of the Grassland Wang Ting was unfathomable; once he launched his attack, he completely suppressed the royal power and suddenly declared war; could the Bai Yan Army really block it?

Would the Buddhist sect stay obediently in the temple and not send people to cause trouble?

Most importantly, would the seven Western Continent nations watch the Great Lan Dynasty fight quietly and not cause trouble?

With all these factors, if the Great Lan Dynasty insisted on fighting, as long as one place went wrong, it might immediately trigger a global collapse!

This was why many officials would rather negotiate for peace than start a war.

And their thoughts represented the will of the entire elite class of the Great Lan Dynasty.

With hearts not united, how could the war go smoothly?

This battle had not yet begun, but it was already shrouded in a haze.

The wind and rain were coming, and the mansion was about to collapse!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 546 =====