Chapter 663: Offering Service

February 8th.

The seventh day of Li Fei's stay in Xingcheng.

In these seven days, he handled many matters:

Finalizing the relevant affairs of the Marquis Estate.

Cleaning up the Qingyuan City Management Company, dealing with all personnel in violation of regulations, and readjusting a portion of the company's business.

Li Fei also created a plan for the next three years for Liu Saner.

He provided business advice to Chen Lixin and finalized the relevant affairs of the Feixin Trading Firm.

Finally, there was the matter of recruiting for the Marquis Estate.

Once the news spread that Li Fei had officially begun building his estate in Xingcheng, many martial artists from the Jianghu came by reputation to offer their service to Li Fei.

A Marquis Estate meant a massive amount of martial arts resources and opportunities for advancement, so those Jianghu figures who believed they had talent but lacked resources came to offer their service.

As a Marquis, Li Fei could purchase a certain amount of martial arts resources from the imperial court every year: elixirs, implants, protective clothing, exotic weapons, and martial arts manuals.

He naturally could not use them all by himself, so these resources were meant for cultivating subordinates.

In seven days, a total of over thirty Jianghu rogue cultivators came to offer their service.

Li Fei did not accept them all; instead, he had the people from the Supervisory Academy investigate their backgrounds.

He wanted subordinates with clean records and sound character.

After the Supervisory Academy checked their pasts, he also utilized the "Gate of the Dream Realm" to probe their inner hearts once more through their subconscious in the dream realm, confirming that there were no major issues with their character.

In the end, out of the thirty-plus rogue cultivators, Li Fei only accepted nineteen.

Among the remaining people, three were found by the Supervisory Academy to have murder cases on their records and were arrested on the spot.

They didn't make it into the Marquis Estate, but they did make it into prison.

Of the nineteen accepted, fifteen were only Body-Breaking Realm martial artists, and there were only four Qi-Transformation Realm martial masters; not a single one had developed internal force.

This was also unavoidable.

Those who could reach the mid-stage of Qi-Transformation or higher and become martial masters with internal force were never short of recruitment offers from major factions.

No matter where they went, they could find a good path.

Therefore, it was very difficult for Li Fei to recruit experts.

Of course, this was the "early startup phase," and there would be plenty of opportunities in the future; once the Marquis Estate slowly grew stronger, it would always be able to attract experts.

If all else failed, by throwing enough money at it, he could always recruit a few Dao-Foundation Realm experts.

Li Fei planned to leave Xingcheng today, first going to Datong Prefecture City, and then taking the train directly to Gansheng.

After all, he was on an imperial mission to investigate a case; if he stayed in Fengsheng for too long, it would inevitably invite criticism.

"Marquis, another person has come outside to offer their service to you. It is a martial master with internal force, and they are very young."

Lu Wen suddenly walked into the main hall and said to Li Fei.

Li Fei was currently in a rented residence, which was located near the Marquis Estate he was building.

For the past few days, whenever someone came to offer their service, Li Fei conducted the "interview" here.

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Li Fei immediately perked up. "Invite them in."

Lu Wen soon brought in a young man wearing coarse linen clothes with a blade strapped to his back.

Li Fei sized up the young man.

His appearance could not be called handsome, and there was still a touch of childishness between his brows, but his eyes were extremely sharp, as if they concealed a blade.

Upon seeing Li Fei, the young man was visibly nervous:

"Commoner Xu Xiaotian pays respects to the Marquis of Jing'an!"

"No need for formalities. Please sit, please have some tea."

"Many thanks, Marquis."

Xu Xiaotian sat down with a somewhat stiff body, not daring to reach for the teacup to the side.

Li Fei looked at the other party; he was indeed visibly young, and there was a faint aura of internal force within his body.

A genuine martial master with internal force!

This made Li Fei feel a bit expectant.

Although he had not hesitated at all when killing You Xiaofeng, in reality, he was indeed short-handed.

Next, the Qingyuan City Management Company needed to expand out of Xingcheng, the Qingmian Mountain Villa needed to unify the Jianghu of Datong Prefecture, and the Chen family's business needed to be promoted.

Manpower was needed everywhere, especially martial artists and experts to hold down the fort.

Don't look at the fact that Li Fei currently had the service of Lu Wen and others, including Dao-Foundation Realm powerhouses and martial masters with internal force.

But these people were currently officials of the Stop-Conflict Pavilion; they did not belong to his private forces, could not be deployed at will, and could not stay in Fengsheng to help him "conquer the world."

"Introduce yourself."

Li Fei sat and waited for a while, and seeing Xu Xiaotian still sitting blankly in his seat, he had to take the initiative to ask.

"Ah!"

Xu Xiaotian hurriedly stood up and cupped his hands:

"Marquis, I am from Beixing Prefecture in Linsheng. I am 23 years old this year, at the peak of the Qi-Transformation Realm, and I began the 'Return to One' process two years ago."

Li Fei's eyes lit up when he heard this.

Having started "Return to One" two years ago meant the other party had reached the peak of the Qi-Transformation Realm at 21; this could definitely be considered a genius!

If the other party could complete the next step, "Return to One," within seven years, they would meet the standard for a prodigy as written in "Treatise on Heavenly Prodigies"!

"Who is your master?"

Li Fei asked.

"My... my martial arts were taught by my master. My master's name is Ye Yu, nicknamed 'Heavenly Leaf Tyrant Blade,' and he is a famous chivalrous hero in Linsheng!"

When Xu Xiaotian said this, his eyes suddenly turned red:

"A year ago, he was murdered by villains. I escaped from Linsheng and fled all the way to Fengsheng. I came to offer my service to you because you are the fastest martial artist in the world to break through from the Qi-Transformation Realm to the Dao-Foundation Realm. I want to follow you in cultivation to break through to the Dao-Foundation Realm as quickly as possible and avenge my master!"

Li Fei looked at the other party: "You are quite candid."

Xu Xiaotian gritted his teeth, knelt on one knee directly, and said to Li Fei:

"As long as the Marquis can teach me and let me get my revenge, from now on, this life of mine is yours!"

He was simple-minded and had never considered that if Li Fei truly possessed some secret technique that could quickly complete "Return to One,"

then such a secret technique would be beyond valuable—it would be a priceless treasure!

It was something that could not be bought with the lives of many people.

Li Fei shook his head, and Xu Xiaotian's heart immediately went cold.

"It is not that I am unwilling to teach you, but you cannot learn my method of breaking through realms."

Li Fei said.

Without the Ten Thousand Blood Bead and a vitality several times greater than that of other martial artists in the same realm, no one in the world could replicate his "Return to One Method."

Xu Xiaotian's eyes dimmed, and he lowered his head.

"With your talent, even relying on yourself, the chances of breaking through to the Dao-Foundation Realm are quite high."

Li Fei said.

Xu Xiaotian gritted his teeth and said: "I just want to break through quickly and go back to get revenge!"

His talent was indeed good, but Li Fei was the person who had broken through from the Qi-Transformation Realm to the Dao-Foundation Realm the fastest.

There must be something unique about it!

That was why Xu Xiaotian wanted to come and offer his service to Li Fei.

Thinking of this, Li Fei suddenly realized that he had gained another highly attractive point to the outside world.

Would many more martial masters with internal force who were stuck at the "Return to One" step come to offer their service like Xu Xiaotian in the future?

It was a pity that he could not teach these people.

"I cannot teach you how to break through as quickly as I do. Are you still willing to offer your service to me?"

Li Fei asked.

Xu Xiaotian hesitated slightly before making his decision:

"I am willing! Even if I cannot learn the Marquis's method, I believe that by staying by the side of such a peerless prodigy as you, I will definitely be able to learn many things!"

"Good, get up quickly."

Li Fei stepped forward to help him up.

Following the procedure, the Supervisory Academy would first investigate Xu Xiaotian's background to see if what he said was true.

Li Fei was now a Blue Patrol Special Envoy; he could find excuses to mobilize the power of the Supervisory Academy in any province in the world, and others were willing to give him this face.

Therefore, not long after, the Supervisory Academy in Linsheng sent back information about Xu Xiaotian.

It was indeed as the other party had said; he was a disciple of the chivalrous hero "Heavenly Leaf Tyrant Blade" Ye Yu.

Ye Yu was a Dao-Foundation Realm martial artist and one of the rare rogue cultivators in the Jianghu who had reached the Dao-Foundation Realm on his own.

This person was indeed a famous chivalrous hero in Linsheng who had done many righteous deeds, and thus had offended many people.

Looking at the deeds of Ye Yu in the file, Li Fei felt as if he were seeing another Hao Yi.

It was just that the other party did not have as much capability as Hao Yi, nor did he act as aggressively as Hao Yi.

But more than a year ago, Ye Yu was suddenly killed; as for who exactly the enemy was, it remained unknown to this day.

"Did your master have you leave Linsheng in advance? He only met with misfortune after you left."

After reading Xu Xiaotian's personal file, Li Fei asked him.

Because Ye Yu was his Master, he felt a bit more goodwill toward Xu Xiao.

Xu Xiao said: "Yes, Master must have had a premonition that something would happen to him, so he made me leave in advance and gave me a strict order: I am not allowed to return to Lin Province until I break through to the Dao Foundation realm!"

Li Fei nodded; no wonder the other party was so anxious to break through his realm.

But Ye Yu ordering Xu Xiao not to return until he reached the Dao Foundation realm was likely not because he wanted Xu Xiao to return for revenge after breaking through, but because he figured that by the time Xu Xiao succeeded, it would already be years later.

Perhaps by that time, if Xu Xiao returned to Lin Province, there would no longer be any danger.

This was Ye Yu's painstaking effort, just as Hao Yi had hoped before leaving that Li Fei would not be affected by hatred and would walk his own path.

It is just that if some grudges are not settled and some things are not done, it is very difficult to live life to the fullest!

Therefore, Li Fei would not try to persuade Xu Xiao.

After finishing Xu Xiao's file, he cast the "Gate of the Dream Realm" again, entered the dream realm, and snuck into Xu Xiao's subconscious world.

Xu Xiao was a martial artist at the peak of the Qi Transformation realm with a strong will; Li Fei could not complete a deep infiltration without alerting him.

So, he only took a stroll through the surface of the other party's subconscious world; confirming that he was a person with a simple mind and not much depth of character was enough.

Thus, Li Fei decided to accept Xu Xiao and keep him by his side.

He certainly could not teach Xu Xiao his own method of cultivation, but with the heritage he possessed and his current realm, guiding the other party's cultivation was more than enough.

That afternoon, Li Fei took everyone and left Xingcheng by car.

Two days later, the group arrived at Datong Prefecture, then took He Jian and his team with them to board a train to Gan Province.

Li Fei was not in a hurry to retry the case of Shangguan Xiao.

For one thing, his primary task now was to investigate the assassination case at the Temple of Heaven; leaving this case alone to investigate others was certainly not acceptable.

For another, Shangguan Xiao's case involved the Lu family and Xu Jing, who was already a Grandmaster and a principal; this was not a case that could be easily overturned.

Before leaving Datong Prefecture, Li Fei had a detailed conversation with Bian Jingru, and both sides reached a consensus:

Datong Prefecture would first begin to investigate the case in secret, collect evidence, and make all kinds of preliminary preparations to "warm up" for the future retrial of the case.

Once Li Fei finished investigating the Temple of Heaven assassination case, the two sides would officially join forces to launch a counterattack against the provincial capital!

"Lu Wenzheng is definitely not someone who will sit and wait for death; please be sure to be careful, Marquis of Jing'an!"

These were the words Bian Jingru specifically urged Li Fei with before his departure.

"This Marquis will wait for him to come."

Li Fei said this, then boarded the train.

(End of this chapter)