Chapter 669: The World-Entry Society

In the subconscious world, a great fire burned everything to ash.

Li Fei was startled, immediately realizing what this was—a vow-based technique!

The other party had established a secrecy-type vow technique; when their consciousness and memories were "invaded," the vow technique planted deep within their mind was triggered, thereby directly destroying that segment of memory.

Judging from the scene before him, the vow technique this person had established was clearly of the most severe kind; once triggered, it would even destroy the person's entire consciousness—it was simply tyrannical to the extreme!

Li Fei hurriedly cast a technique of the Nightmare Sect to extinguish the raging fire.

He had now reached the Possession Realm and could resonate with the Dream-Command Token, doubling the power of the techniques he cast, and ultimately succeeded in extinguishing the fire.

But even though his actions were fast enough, the fire had still burned away many things, especially destroying the most crucial pieces of information.

Li Fei could only obtain the remaining information as best he could.

Creak—

The cell door was opened, and Li Fei walked out from inside.

"Has the Marquis finished the interrogation?"

Zhuang Kun asked.

Li Fei nodded: "Guard him strictly; don't let the suspect die."

"Rest assured, Marquis."

Zhuang Kun nodded in response.

Afterward, Li Fei left this dungeon of the Inspection Department and walked into the place where He Jian and the others were working.

A group of people were examining case files.

"Master He."

Li Fei came to He Jian's side.

"Did Master Li gain anything from interrogating the suspect?"

He Jian glanced at Li Fei and asked casually.

He hadn't counted on Li Fei being able to get anything out of the questioning at all; he would go to interrogate the person himself next.

"The suspect is a member of an organization called the New Heaven Society."

Li Fei said.

"New Heaven Society?"

He Jian put down the file in his hand, looked up, and stared at Li Fei in surprise.

"New Heaven Society, taking its meaning from 'daring to call for the sun and moon to change into a new sky.' The purpose of this organization is to overthrow the existing rule and create a new world."

Li Fei said simply.

He Jian nodded, not surprised.

Since the establishment of the Great Lan Dynasty, such organizations had never ceased to exist.

"What else did Master Li find out?"

"This person is named Liu Jiehui, a well-known expert in the Gan Province martial arts world. He joined the New Heaven Society eight years ago, and it was only with the society's funding that he was able to break through to the Dao Foundation Realm."

"Eight years ago..."

He Jian nodded and recorded this key information.

A secret organization that had existed in the shadows for at least eight years, capable of providing resources to help people break through to the Dao Foundation Realm, combined with the two people Li Fei had encountered in Datong Prefecture previously.

A young peak Dao Foundation Realm powerhouse, and a Great Mage who possessed a flight-capable magic treasure.

Such an organization was indeed capable of plotting the assassination case at the Altar of Heaven.

"Is there anything else?"

"I didn't have time to obtain the most crucial information, so I can't yet confirm that this organization is related to the Altar of Heaven assassination case."

"Didn't have time?"

"I used a certain secret technique to forcibly search the other party's memory, but they had implanted a vow-type technique. Now their consciousness is destroyed, and many key memories are missing."

"Master Li, why did you act on your own without telling me beforehand?!"

Upon hearing this, obvious anger appeared on He Jian's face.

Li Fei admitted his mistake quite straightforwardly:

"It was indeed my oversight; I didn't expect the vow-type technique they had implanted to be so tyrannical."

But He Jian still had no intention of letting him off.

He would not give face to the Chief Inspector of the Inspection Department, nor would he give face to a Marquis:

"Master Li! I know you are a peerless prodigy, but that is in martial arts. In the matter of investigating a case, I hope you can leave professional matters to the professionals!"

These words were quite impolite, and Li Fei fell silent.

The others in the room became nervous.

"Master..."

Yuan Mengfei, who was to the side, hurriedly pulled on He Jian, looked at Li Fei with an apologetic expression, and tried to smooth things over:

"Marquis, please don't mind him; my master focuses on the matter, not the person. His investigation style..."

"This matter was indeed my lack of thorough consideration. From now on, as long as it concerns the investigation, I will discuss it with Master He first."

Li Fei waved his hand and said to He Jian earnestly.

He had actually been reflecting on himself just now.

Although he was no longer a youth in temperament, from the moment he was enfeoffed as a Marquis before the palace until now, his journey could be described as smooth sailing.

When he went to interrogate Liu Jiehui earlier, he had taken it for granted that he could solve the problem using the "Gate of the Dream Realm," and was full of confidence in himself.

It was indeed a lack of thorough consideration.

He Jian was taken aback.

He had actually regretted it the moment the words left his mouth; it wasn't that he was worried about offending Li Fei, but rather that Li Fei was the person primarily responsible for this case, and if he soured the relationship, it would be detrimental to the subsequent investigation.

He was just that kind of person—everything had to give way for the sake of the investigation.

He hadn't expected Li Fei to be willing to admit his mistake.

He Jian's expression softened, and he cupped his hands to Li Fei: "I hope Master Li will not mind this old man's offense."

"It is of no consequence."

Li Fei said calmly.

He was not a person without a temper; it was just that his edge was only revealed in front of enemies.

The atmosphere in the room eased.

Just as Yuan Mengfei intended to crack a joke to liven up the atmosphere, Li Fei spoke again:

"However, I did not come away completely empty-handed. I obtained a piece of information from the other party's memory, and I think we can set a trap to lure the snake out of its hole."

"Oh?"

He Jian immediately perked up, "What do you mean?"

On the second day of Li Fei's arrival in the provincial capital of Gan Province, almost everyone in the city knew that this Marquis of Jing'an had arrived.

There was no helping it; Li Fei's fame was too great these days.

Consequently, the martial artists in the provincial capital were almost all discussing one thing—

Would Li Fei have a match with Shentu Yue?

The third versus the second on the overall Wind and Cloud Ranking!

This was undoubtedly a grand event in the martial arts world, drawing the attention of the masses.

It was just that according to the rules of the martial arts world, duels between experts on the Wind and Cloud Ranking were usually initiated by the one with the lower ranking challenging the one with the higher ranking.

Currently, Li Fei's ranking was lower than Shentu Yue's, but his own status was higher than hers, so it was best for him to initiate the duel; it was difficult for Shentu Yue to take the initiative to issue an invitation.

Yet, a full five days had passed, and Li Fei showed no intention of inviting Shentu Yue to a match at all.

This could not help but make everyone very disappointed.

Some felt that since Li Fei had become a Marquis, he cherished his reputation more and felt he had no certainty of defeating Shentu Yue, which was why he hadn't initiated a challenge.

Others felt that Li Fei was now in a high position with great power and no longer cared to compete for fame with people in the martial arts world.

Because Shentu Yue was a native of Gan Province, more of the opinions were biased toward her, feeling that it was because Li Fei was not sure he could win that he hadn't issued a challenge.

February 21st.

The sixth day of Li Fei's arrival in the provincial capital of Gan Province.

For these past few days, he had been staying in the Inspection Department, and apart from cultivating, he was discussing the case with He Jian.

Lu Wenxing suddenly found Li Fei holding an invitation.

"Inviting me to a banquet?"

Li Fei took the invitation and glanced at it, somewhat surprised, "Didn't we tell the public that I am here to investigate a case?"

After he arrived in the provincial capital of Gan Province, he had immediately had Lu Wenxing announce to the public that he would focus on the investigation and decline all invitations to banquets.

Therefore, he did not understand why Lu Wenxing would specifically bring an invitation over at this time.

"Marquis, this person's status is unusual, and this banquet is related to the heated discussions of the past few days, so I felt it was necessary for you to know."

Lu Wenxing explained.

Li Fei looked at the signature on the invitation—Chief of the Stop-Conflict Department, Chi Chengyu.

A Cabinet official, and also a Martial Arts Master.

With such high status and power, he certainly had face, but not enough to make Li Fei abandon his work to attend a banquet.

"Chief Chi has another identity: he is the Vice President of the World-Entry Society."

Lu Wenxing said.

"The Worldly Entry Society?"

Li Fei was stunned for a moment, then immediately remembered something.

The Red Dust Pavilion was able to become the top martial arts sect of the current age not only because it had a Human Martial Saint presiding over it, but also because the Red Dust Pavilion had a Worldly Entry Society.

The Red Dust Pavilion's cultivation techniques were very unique, emphasizing entering the world first, then transcending it.

The "Red Dust Heart-Cleansing Art" created by its founding master required practitioners to temper their hearts in the rolling red dust of the secular world, eventually seeing through the red dust to comprehend the Dao.

To this end, the Red Dust Pavilion established a "Worldly Entry Society" in the secular world, allowing all disciples who had entered the world for tempering to help one another.

The ways in which Red Dust Pavilion disciples entered the world to temper themselves were all different:

Some entered the world as physicians, hanging up their gourds to save the world.

Some entered the imperial court as officials, determined to save the common people of the world.

Some joined the army, seeking fame and merit on the battlefield.

Some went into business, aiming to become the richest person in the world.

The disciples of the Red Dust Pavilion were all outstanding individuals, each one extraordinary, so they were all able to achieve something after entering the world.

Over time, this Worldly Entry Society gained immense influence in the secular world!

Whether it was business, a career in officialdom, the military, or any other industry, the Worldly Entry Society had bigwigs in every field who could provide assistance.

Because of the existence of the Worldly Entry Society, the Red Dust Pavilion's influence on the secular world was second only to the Daoists!

Chi Chengyu, this Red Dust Pavilion disciple, had chosen to enter the imperial court as an official when he first entered the world, and now he had become a fifth-rank Pavilion Official, as well as the Chief of the provincial Cease-Conflict Department.

But neither of these two identities carried as much weight as his identity as the Vice President of the Worldly Entry Society.

It could even be said that, when it came to influence and the resources at one's disposal, even the Inspector of Gansu Province, Su Xuesong, could not compare to Chi Chengyu!

Chi Chengyu's invitation to Li Fei was indeed of a different caliber than invitations from others.

"Besides inviting you, Marquis, Chief Chi also invited Shentu Yue; it looks like he might be trying to create an opportunity for the two of you to cross hands."

Lu Wenxing voiced his speculation.

"Oh?"

Li Fei had been ignoring the world outside his window for the past few days and did not know about the heated discussions outside.

So, Lu Wenxing informed him of what everyone was discussing.

"Perhaps Shentu Yue feels confident that she can defeat you, Marquis, but since you never took the initiative to bring it up, she can only look for an opportunity for a duel through this method."

Lu Wenxing said.

Shentu Yue had naturally joined the Worldly Entry Society as well, and as the closed-door disciple of the Red Dust Pavilion Master, she was very favored within the society; all the bigwigs would do their utmost to provide assistance to this peerless prodigy.

Li Fei nodded after hearing this.

He actually did not mind having a fight with Shentu Yue, but he was currently busy solving the case and had no mind for it for the time being.

He suddenly thought of something, his eyes lit up, and he walked out of the room with the invitation, finding He Jian.

He handed the invitation directly to He Jian, and after He Jian finished reading it, he immediately understood Li Fei's idea:

"Is Lord Li planning to use this banquet to set a trap?"

"Isn't this just perfect? It even saves us a lot of trouble."

He Jian thought it over carefully and nodded:

"It is indeed a good opportunity."

"Then it's settled!"

Li Fei turned to look at Lu Wenxing:

"Tell Chief Chi that I will definitely be at this banquet!"

(End of chapter)