Chapter 631: Returning Home in Glory

When Li Fei took the initiative to charge forward, Lan Ruoyun was already stunned.

When this sword strike proved ineffective, she felt as if she had been struck by lightning, as if she had been hit by one of Li Fei's 【Blood Might Divine】 techniques!

Her core-level extraordinary ability, "Clear Mirror," allowed her to quickly discern the various methods of others; as long as she saw them once, she could potentially see through their mysteries and find a way to counter them.

This was an incredibly powerful combat ability!

However, although "Clear Mirror" allowed Lan Ruoyun to understand Li Fei's defensive mechanism, it failed to determine his defensive limit.

Now she knew there was no limit, or at least, she lacked the ability to reach it.

Using 【Orchid Cause, Fluff Fruit】 had already exhausted her supply of "Qi."

Li Fei did not give her another chance to catch her breath and seized the opportunity to slash out; the Solitary Heaven Cloud Crane Force was not suited for defense, and the Primordial Vajra Force was too sharp.

This slash directly tore through Lan Ruoyun's protective force, the blade stopping at her throat.

Li Fei could afford to make many mistakes, but Lan Ruoyun only had to make one mistake in front of him, and she would have no more chances.

"."

Lan Ruoyun was stunned for a few seconds before she reacted; Li Fei had already retracted his Ghost-Slaying Blade.

"Miss Lan, you have conceded."

Li Fei nodded at Lan Ruoyun.

"Marquis... your cultivation body is profound; Ruoyun is impressed."

Lan Ruoyun bowed to Li Fei with a complex expression.

She had only mastered 【Orchid Cause, Fluff Fruit】 in the last six months, and today was the first time she had revealed it in front of others.

She had thought that by suddenly using this ultimate technique, she would have a chance to defeat this Marquis who had just become famous throughout the world in one fell swoop.

In that instant just now, she had even thought she had won!

Only now did she understand why the other party was able to wound a True Person's flying sword.

The Wind and Cloud General Ranking placing him at third was likely an underestimate.

Lan Ruoyun had once sparred with Shentu Yue, who was ranked second and also a woman; she believed that if she used 【Orchid Cause, Fluff Fruit】, she could fight for a thirty percent chance of victory.

But against Li Fei, she had not seen a single glimmer of a chance to win from start to finish!

That terrifying defensive power was truly... enough to make one gnash their teeth.

"I wonder what the result would be if that Zhu Fenghua, who crowns the Dao Foundation stage of all time, were to face him?"

Lan Ruoyun could not help but think.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Applause suddenly came from the side; it was Lan Mingqian clapping.

Following that, the many important figures of Lingshou Prefecture and all the onlookers around the square began to applaud.

Lan Mingqian walked toward the two first, with the others following closely behind.

"My daughter has offended you; I hope the Marquis of Jing'an will not take it to heart."

Lan Mingqian arrived at Li Fei's side and handed over a bottle of elixirs. "This is the Lan family's White Cloud Life-Breathing Pill, which can be used for healing. Please, Marquis of Jing'an, you must accept it."

In truth, if he had arrived any later, the wounds at Li Fei's throat and left shoulder would have almost healed on their own.

These minor injuries were nothing to Li Fei, whose vitality was as strong as a strange beast, let alone to an ordinary Dao Foundation martial artist.

Yet the White Cloud Life-Breathing Pill that Lan Mingqian handed over was a famous sacred healing medicine that allowed one to heal rapidly while still fighting.

Carrying a bottle on one's person was equivalent to having an extra core-level extraordinary ability of the healing type!

For many martial artists, such a bottle of pills was equivalent to having several extra lives!

This was a unique elixir of the Lan family, one that could not be bought outside.

Lan Mingqian knew that Li Fei had not accepted a single gift on his journey here, so he used this method to present the pills to Li Fei.

"It was merely a martial arts exchange; such things are inevitable. I have fought my way through many life-and-death struggles; why should I care about such minor wounds?"

Li Fei pushed the pills Lan Mingqian handed him back.

His referring to himself as "this Marquis" made it difficult for Lan Mingqian to insist further.

Thus, he smiled and said to Li Fei, "The Marquis of Jing'an is truly peerless in elegance."

Li Fei also smiled. "The Lan family's sword techniques are profound and agile, truly admirable. This trip has been well worth it for me."

At this moment, Lu Wenxing hurried over and helped Li Fei put on the Gold-Threaded Jade Qilin Armor to cover the damaged martial arts uniform underneath.

Li Fei glanced at the commoners waiting around the square:

"Master Lan, and all you lords, the commoners have been waiting for a long time. I think we should not delay everyone any further; let us part ways here."

Lan Mingqian was startled. "Will the Marquis of Jing'an not sit down and chat for a while longer?"

Li Fei shook his head. "Until we meet again."

"... ery well."

Lan Mingqian felt some regret.

It seemed his daughter had failed to attract this Marquis; the two had not even exchanged many words.

The pills had not been accepted either.

Ding Ze and the other officials bowed to Li Fei one by one, and Li Fei bid them farewell one by one.

Finally, the crowd escorted Li Fei and his party back onto the train.

Watching the train slowly pull away from the station, Lan Mingqian asked his daughter beside him:

"What do you think of this Marquis of Jing'an?"

Lan Ruoyun fell silent, momentarily unsure of how to describe him.

She had never encountered such a crude opponent!

"It was rumored that this person's physique is different from ordinary people, that he possesses the legendary 'Rising Dragon Body.' I originally thought he would rely on his powerful vitality to slowly wear you down, in which case, if you found his vital points, you might have had a chance of winning. I never expected his defensive methods to be so profound. Such a physique is truly unheard of."

Lan Mingqian watched the receding train and sighed with emotion.

Lan Ruoyun spoke slowly:

"The ancestor once commented on the Dao Foundation martial artists of the world, saying that those below the peak of the Dao Foundation stage are one kind, and those at the peak of the Dao Foundation stage who are outside the Wind and Cloud General Ranking and the candidate list are another. Those in the top five of the Wind and Cloud General Ranking have pulled away from the others on the list, counting as a third kind. Finally, the ancestor listed Zhu Fenghua as a category unto himself."

Lan Mingqian had heard this assessment, and he smiled:

"In reality, if one must categorize the Dao Foundation martial artists of this world, they can simply be divided into two: Zhu Fenghua, and everyone else."

Lan Ruoyun knew this was no exaggeration, because Zhu Fenghua's Dao Foundation stage truly belonged to another realm; the gap between him and the second place on the list was likely even greater than the gap between her and those Dao Foundation martial artists who couldn't even make the list!

"But now I think that perhaps in the future, Li Fei could surpass Zhu Fenghua."

Lan Ruoyun said as much.

"Oh? Since you think so highly of the Marquis of Jing'an, why didn't you speak up to keep him for a chat earlier?"

Lan Mingqian looked at his daughter with a smile.

"... ecause he is crude."

Lan Ruoyun showed a rare expression of annoyance.

"Ah?"

Lan Mingqian was stunned.

The Marquis of Jing'an had been very polite and humble from start to finish; how was he crude?

Before he could press for an answer, Lan Ruoyun had already turned and left.

On the train, Li Fei was summarizing the clash that had just occurred.

With the dual defensive damage reduction of the Primordial Star Armor and the Tyrant Body, the damage he actually took in the end was not much, and his Blood Soul had not been depleted by much.

Previously, in Master Qingxie's subconscious world, Li Fei had already had a battle where he broke technique with force.

If the gap in technique could not be bridged, then he would rely on the strength brought by 【Blood Rage】 and the defense of the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl to compensate.

The core combat strategy was simple: break technique with force, and trade injury for injury!

Until more powerful techniques were honed, this was the most suitable fighting style for him.

Today's battle served as a good verification, and the results were quite good.

Since his clash with Gu Yuefeng, the opponents Li Fei had encountered were either not strong enough, or they were Martial Arts Masters or True Persons, a full major realm above him.

None of them were able to help him accurately gauge his own level.

The weak ones went without saying, and opponents like True Person Qingyu involved coincidental factors and conflicting methods, so one could not generalize or be blindly confident.

Today's clash with Lan Ruoyun finally gave Li Fei a clearer understanding of himself.

In this battle, aside from his "Blood Demon State" and his dual cultivation of magic and martial arts, he had used basically everything else.

It was roughly equivalent to using five-tenths of his power to fight his opponent.

Winning against a powerhouse ranked fifth on the Wind and Cloud General Ranking in this state showed that he was already in a league of his own at the Dao Foundation stage.

Below a Martial Arts Master, he had almost no opponents.

"Only Zhu Fenghua remains; I wonder what his strength is now?"

Li Fei thought to himself.

It had been more than two years since Zhu Fenghua fought a Martial Arts Master for a hundred moves without being defeated.

At that time, Li Fei had not yet begun to practice martial arts.

Now, Zhu Fenghua still had not broken through his realm, and the outside world did not know exactly what level his strength had reached.

"If there is a chance, I would like to have a match."

A look of anticipation flashed in Li Fei's eyes.

The number one Dao Foundation stage in history!

Li Fei, who already possessed many "number one in history" titles, actually didn't mind having one more.

After that, Li Fei did not encounter anything else worth getting off the train for, and he spent the rest of the journey focused on his cultivation.

Since he could not incorporate implants, the *Practical Examination of Dual Cultivation of Dharma and Martial Arts* and the *Vajra Method of Stabilizing Calamity* were the primary subjects of Li Fei's cultivation.

Originally, he still had one opportunity to enter the Imperial Library to select any secret manual he wished, which was a reward from the previous imperial court session.

However, Li Fei currently had too much to cultivate and was not lacking in secret manuals for the time being; rather, he was more in need of time, so he was in no rush to enter the Imperial Library.

After cultivating like this for six days, the train arrived at the Datong Provincial Capital.

The train station in the provincial capital had also been cleared out long ago.

The Datong Provincial Garrison Commander, Bian Jingru, led a group of high-ranking officials to wait collectively inside the train station, preparing to respectfully welcome the youth who had once departed from Datong Prefecture, now the Marquis of Jing'an—

Returning home in glory!

(End of chapter)