Chapter 627: Where the Clouds Deeply Hide

Lingshou Prefecture City, train station.

Except for the carriage reserved by Li Fei and his party, everyone else in the other carriages had already disembarked and left the station.

On the platform, a large crowd gathered; the two leading figures were the Garrison Commander of Lingshou Prefecture and the head of the Lan family, Lan Mingqian.

A group of important figures were all waiting for one person.

Not long after, people began to disembark from the reserved carriage.

Lu Wen and the others stepped off first, standing in two rows.

Finally, a dark gold robe was the first thing to catch everyone's eyes.

The crowd stirred, and everyone's gaze shifted toward it.

A young man wearing a gold robe and holding a long saber walked out of the carriage door.

Although he was excessively young, his temperament was calm and resolute, making people subconsciously overlook his age.

This gold robe looked extremely valuable at a glance, clearly no ordinary item, further highlighting the man's extraordinary nature and adding a touch of nobility.

Even without the waist plaque symbolizing his status as a Marquis, everyone waiting on the platform knew the identity of the person who had arrived—

The Marquis of Jing'an!

"Greetings, Marquis of Jing'an."

Including Lan Mingqian, the head of the Lan family, everyone took the lead in bowing to Li Fei.

In terms of status, Lan Mingqian was not necessarily lower than Li Fei, but he still bowed first.

Li Fei stepped toward the crowd and cupped his hands in a salute:

"I have troubled you all to wait; I am unworthy of such courtesy."

If this had been an ordinary meeting, he would not have disembarked.

It was not that he was putting on airs, but rather that once certain things were done, one had to be consistent.

If he met some people but not others, he would only end up offending people.

However, Lingshou Prefecture had extended the invitation through a martial arts duel, and the person who invited him was also ranked on the overall Wind and Cloud Ranking.

All the high-ranking officials of Lingshou Prefecture were present, and the head of the Lan family had come in person, which was giving him plenty of face.

If Li Fei had avoided them, it would have appeared too arrogant.

"It is our honor to see the Marquis of Jing'an visit Lingshou; waiting a while is of no consequence."

An old man wearing blue official robes with a crane embroidered on the front stepped forward a few paces and said with a smile.

He was Ding Ze, the Garrison Commander of Lingshou Prefecture.

Although in terms of actual influence and authority, the head of the Lan family, Lan Mingqian, was naturally above him, in this situation, it was more appropriate for him, the Garrison Commander, to come forward first to speak with Li Fei.

"Lord Ding is too polite; I am humbled."

Li Fei said as much.

This attitude of his caused many to look at him in a new light.

They had assumed that someone who became a Marquis at 19 and possessed the number one martial arts talent in history would, even if not contemptuous of others, at least be somewhat arrogant and domineering.

But the impression Li Fei gave them was one of humility and courtesy; he truly did not seem like a high-spirited, impetuous youth.

"This is Master Lan Mingqian, a consultant for the Lingshou Prefecture Stop-the-War General Academy and the martial arts chief instructor for the Ande Province Stop-the-War Department."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Ding Ze took the opportunity to introduce Lan Mingqian to Li Fei.

The two titles he introduced were merely honorary positions Lan Mingqian held externally; as for his status as the head of the Lan family, Li Fei had already heard about it from Lu Wen beforehand.

"Greetings, Master Lan."

Li Fei cupped his hands in a salute.

"The Marquis of Jing'an possesses unparalleled elegance; seeing you today is truly admirable."

Lan Mingqian said with a smile.

"Peerless talent, unparalleled elegance"—these were the words of the Son of Heaven, a final verdict!

"My daughter has long heard of the Marquis of Jing'an's style and has admired you for a long time; since we are fortunate enough to meet today, she would like to ask the Marquis of Jing'an for some pointers."

Lan Mingqian turned to the side and gestured, directly introducing Lan Ruoyun, who was behind him.

Li Fei glanced over.

A flash of blue gauze caught his eye, and as the breeze blew, her dress swayed lightly.

Aloof, agile, pure, and flawless, like a white crane above the clouds, soaring through the sky.

This was Li Fei's first impression upon seeing Lan Ruoyun.

Regardless of appearance or temperament, she was indeed the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Compared to her, Feng Sanniang, who had once been the most beautiful woman in Feng Province, inevitably seemed a bit vulgar.

Upon seeing her, Li Fei vaguely understood why the Lan family wanted to facilitate this duel.

"The Lan family's sword techniques are world-renowned; I am willing to try."

Li Fei said quite straightforwardly to Lan Ruoyun.

He was willing to accept this duel not only to witness the Lan family's sword techniques but also to spar with a powerhouse on the overall Wind and Cloud Ranking.

When fighting against powerhouses with higher cultivation bases, he was mostly fighting for his life.

Only by fighting against top-tier martial artists of the same realm could it be considered a true duel.

The two would yield different gains.

Of course, he was also taking the opportunity to see the style of the legendary most beautiful woman in the entire province.

Lan Ruoyun's eyes brightened: "Please."

Without any extra pleasantries or conversation, the duel was thus decided.

The group left the platform, walked out of the station, and arrived at the square outside.

The square was already crowded with people who had come to catch trains but were temporarily unable to enter the station.

Li Fei naturally did not need to worry about the train's departure time.

As long as he wished, the train could stay here for him for several days.

On the square, Li Fei and Lan Ruoyun stood facing each other, about thirty meters apart.

Li Fei had already taken off his Golden Jade Qilin Armor and handed it to Lu Wen for safekeeping.

Since it was a martial arts duel, he naturally would not take advantage of his equipment.

The armor was removed, but there was no need to change weapons; the sword in Lan Ruoyun's hand was also a Level 6 exotic weapon, no worse than Li Fei's Ghost Severing Saber.

The woman stood holding her sword, possessing a sense of etherealness as if standing above the clouds; although she was thirty meters away, she made Li Fei feel a blurred perception, making it difficult to lock onto her.

Core-level extraordinary ability—Spirit Void.

When the two stood facing each other, the confrontation had already begun.

"Please."

Li Fei signaled for Lan Ruoyun to make the first move.

Lan Ruoyun did not stand on ceremony and drew her sword with a swish.

A flash of rainbow light appeared, followed by a large amount of white mist appearing out of thin air, and a patch of clouds and mist shrouded Li Fei.

Within the clouds and mist, Li Fei completely lost his perception of the outside world.

There were only white clouds, the sound of the wind, and boundless, chilling silence.

"Cloud Heaven Sword Canon"—Cloud Sea Hidden Sword!

Li Fei stood calmly in place and slowly closed his eyes.

At a certain moment, an ethereal and unpredictable sword light appeared in his perception, forming an arc from the side and slashing toward him.

Li Fei turned, drew his saber, and the Ghost Severing Saber, carrying dark gold saber energy, accurately struck the sword light.

The moment they clashed, more than twenty changes in force were like invisible threads; it was as if an immortal was fishing in the sea of clouds, and each "pull of the rod" caused Li Fei's saber momentum to be broken, making the Ghost Severing Saber tremble so violently it almost flew out of his hand!

After just one clash, Li Fei knew that in terms of technique, he was far inferior to this genius of the Lan family.

This reminded him of his previous experience entering the subconscious world of Master Qingxie.

Thus, when the second sword light slashed over, Li Fei decisively activated the Primordial Star Armor to block the strike head-on, deflecting the sword light.

Subsequently, the Vajra Seal: Roc was activated in an instant, and Li Fei left a golden afterimage in place as he rushed in a certain direction.

With his speed, he could cross dozens of meters in the blink of an eye, but he failed to rush out of the area covered by the clouds and mist.

The surroundings were still endless mist.

"The range can't be this large... so my perception is what's wrong?"

By the time Li Fei reacted, the third sword light had arrived and struck him again.

This time, the sword light was not deflected.

Relying solely on sword techniques and changes in force, it was impossible to completely affect Li Fei, who possessed "Danger Perception."

So this also contained the characteristics of force; this was—Lone Heaven Cloud Crane Force!

The foundation of the Lan family's strongest martial arts, passed down for hundreds of years, 【Lone Heaven Crying Crane】, produced this type of high-level force:

Jumping out of the Five Elements, ethereal and unpredictable. Changing and unfathomable, it can affect others' perception.

The Myriad Blood Bead could not negate such an influence, so Li Fei decisively unleashed the 【Fixed Calamity Vajra Dharma Image】.

A cyan-green Vajra Dharma Image appeared in his mind, and he suddenly opened his eyes, with green light flickering within them.

Everything before him suddenly became clear, and Li Fei saw the blurred figure hidden in the clouds and mist.

He decisively charged over with his saber.

During this process, he was struck by two more sword lights.

The first sword was deflected, the second broke the "Star-Shifting" of the Primordial Star Armor, and the third and fourth swords landed in the same spot, causing cracks to appear on the Primordial Star Armor.

A few more sword strikes and the defense will be broken!

Facing the blade radiance Li Fei slashed over with, Lan Ruoyun thrust out her sword.

This sword strike was like a lone crane skimming the sky, stirring up the sea of clouds and drawing all the surrounding mist to gather toward Li Fei.

"Cloud Heaven Sword Canon" — Cloud Crane Dances in the Sky!

The mist, which was soft and intangible a second ago, felt like cold iron walls the next, pressing in from all directions.

Clang—

As blade and sword collided, Li Fei's Armor-Breaking Style could not keep up with the changes in her force; instead, it was broken, and the long blade in his hand was shaken away once again.

The cloud energy from all directions pressed against the Primordial Star Armor, cracking it and leaving it on the verge of shattering!

Li Fei did not feel surprised in the slightest; while activating "Tyrant Body," he continued to output force, controlling the Ghost-Slaying Blade to slash toward Lan Ruoyun.

Lan Ruoyun was somewhat surprised, because Li Fei was "weaker" than she had imagined.

She had not paid much attention to Li Fei before, originally thinking that Li Fei was able to win against the strong while being weak by relying on shocking techniques and combat talent, but after a round of exchanging blows, she felt absolutely no sense of pressure.

With a figure like a crane, the woman retreated rapidly through the mist, dodging the blade Li Fei had slashed over.

At the same time, the Primordial Star Armor on Li Fei's body shattered completely!

But he did not care at all, bracing against the impact of the cloud energy and continuing to pursue Lan Ruoyun.

"So you are... this kind of style?"

Lan Ruoyun was faintly disappointed; her figure turned, tracing a graceful arc, easily dodging Li Fei's pursuit while continuously striking with her sword.

After chasing for a few steps, Li Fei judged that the Vajra Seal · Roc could not keep up with her speed, so he stopped and let a sword beam strike him, his body remaining motionless.

After being enfeoffed as a Marquis, he no longer hid his use of the Myriad Blood Bead.

Nowadays, the identity of the Green-Faced Ghost King was, to him, secondary.

The next second, a brilliant golden light appeared in Lan Ruoyun's eyes.

Then, this golden light transformed into countless rays, bringing infinite brightness and scorching heat!

Ten thousand rays of golden light tore through the mist, and the patch of fog covering the center of the plaza was cleared away in the blink of an eye!

Lan Ruoyun held her sword horizontally before her, blocking the golden rays outside, her mind calm and unruffled; she was not shaken by this Dao force, but rather felt some confusion:

"Using Dao force so quickly?"

Even for a peak Dao Foundation realm expert, Dao force consumes a significant amount of mental energy and blood essence; even if one's force is sufficient to support it, the former two cannot withstand such squandering, so Dao force is always used as an ultimate move.

In Lan Ruoyun's view, Li Fei using Dao force so quickly meant his skills were limited to this.

Before she could continue thinking, Li Fei had already charged to her front and slashed with his blade.

Lan Ruoyun swung her sword upward to parry; the moment the blade and sword collided, the exquisite change in force was about to shake Li Fei's blade away again.

But, a brilliant golden radiance bloomed on the blade.

And then a second ray, a third ray...

It was 【Infinite Brightness Fire】 again!

(End of chapter)