Chapter 685: Opening

Under the cover of night, Huang Jin walked out of the main gate of the Inspection Department with Shentu Yue, who had put her veil back on.

Outside the gate, a group of reporters had long been waiting, their cameras flashing with blinding light.

Over the past two days, the news that Shentu Yue had been taken away for questioning by the Marquis of Jing'an, Li Fei, had spread throughout the entire city.

Afterwards, under the manipulation of Su Yifei, all sorts of public opinion flew everywhere:

"Did the Marquis of Jing'an frame Shentu Yue on purpose because he was afraid of losing the duel?"

"Power corrodes original intentions; once ennobled, one is no longer a martial artist!"

"He wants power, he wants fame—will the Marquis of Jing'an's next target be Zhu Fenghua?"

"Relying on power to climb to the top of the Wind and Cloud General Rankings?"

"."

Although many of these claims were obviously absurd at a glance, the common folk truly loved to read such news.

The Great Lan Dynasty had no precedent for punishing speech, so some small tabloids, as long as they didn't involve the Imperial family, dared to report any bold content they could find to grab attention!

For a time, Li Fei's reputation in Gansu Province became rather poor.

Tonight marked the end of Shentu Yue's 48-hour detention period, and many newspaper reporters had been camping outside the Inspection Department's gate early on, wanting to see if Shentu Yue would be released.

When they saw Huang Jin leading Shentu Yue out, the reporters quickly swarmed them:

"Miss Shentu, may I ask if you have now been acquitted and released?"

"Miss Shentu, may I ask if you will still be dueling the Marquis of Jing'an?"

"Miss Shentu, do you feel that the Marquis of Jing'an is afraid to duel you?"

"."

An invisible yet gentle wall of Qi blocked all the reporters a few paces away, preventing them from getting any closer.

Huang Jin looked at the glaring cameras not far away and frowned slightly.

He knew that Shentu Yue had always disliked dealing with reporters and was just about to disperse these people when Shentu Yue suddenly spoke up:

"The Marquis of Jing'an has already agreed to duel me. Tomorrow afternoon at 2 o'clock, outside the Red Sleeve Pavilion, I will be waiting for him."

These words immediately made the reporters on the scene excited.

Shentu Yue was going to have a public duel with the Marquis of Jing'an, Li Fei, tomorrow!

This was big news!

Just as the reporters wanted to ask more questions, a gentle force pushed them aside, and Shentu Yue took the lead in walking down the steps, moving out from the crowd.

"Junior Sister..."

Huang Jin caught up to Shentu Yue and was just about to say something when a person suddenly ran over.

It was none other than Su Yifei.

"Miss Shentu, are you alright?!"

Su Yifei looked at Shentu Yue with a face full of concern.

He had also come to wait outside the Inspection Department gate early, wanting to see if Li Fei would release her on time.

Shentu Yue nodded politely to Su Yifei: "Thank you for your concern, Young Master Su, I am fine."

"As long as you're fine. I heard this afternoon that you had been convicted and was truly worried. It's fortunate that Li Fei finally released you after all; it seems these reporters are useful after all."

Su Yifei said with a smile.

Shentu Yue was startled: "Were these reporters brought here by you, Young Master Su?"

Su Yifei laughed: "I just happen to know some newspaper owners, so I thought of a way to help you seek justice."

Shentu Yue looked at him, her gaze softening slightly: "I have troubled you, Young Master Su."

"Haha, it's just a small matter, a small matter."

Su Yifei smiled brightly, not noticing that Huang Jin's gaze was turning cold.

Subsequently, Huang Jin used the excuse that his junior sister needed to rest to interrupt what Su Yifei wanted to say next.

The two of them took a car and left the scene.

The next morning, the headline of every newspaper in the provincial capital of Gansu was that the Marquis of Jing'an, Li Fei, was about to duel Shentu Yue!

This duel had seen many twists and turns, with all sorts of public opinion guidance, which could be said to have whetted everyone's appetite.

Now that the two were finally going to fight, many people ran to the Red Sleeve Restaurant early in the morning to grab a spot.

The teahouses, restaurants, and inns surrounding the Red Sleeve Restaurant were all completely packed!

To prevent a stampede and to clear a space for the two to duel, the Supervision Department specifically sent inspectors to the scene to maintain order.

Inside the Inspection Department, Li Fei was cultivating.

He did not take the duel this afternoon too much to heart.

It was not that he looked down on Shentu Yue, but rather that his own strength had grown significantly.

Two days ago, he had broken through with 【Green Bone】 to the Qi Transformation Realm.

As the fourth implant of the 【Primordial Heaven Gold】, the changes brought by 【Green Bone】 were greater than the previous three implants combined!

Li Fei's physique had been enhanced by a large margin, which manifested in his vitality, increasing his total number of Blood Souls by over 80.

His total number of Blood Souls had now become 973!

The vast majority of martial foundations only undergo a comprehensive physical strengthening after incorporating a fifth implant; martial artists at the Dao Foundation Realm who have incorporated five implants generally have between 160 and 200 Blood Souls if their vitality is converted.

Yet, after Li Fei trained 【Green Bone】 to the Qi Transformation Realm, even excluding the increase in Blood Souls from the Myriad Blood Pearl upgrade, his Blood Soul count had already exceeded 200.

Once he incorporates the fifth implant and completely completes the 【Primordial Heaven Gold】, his body will undergo yet another strengthening.

Having vitality far exceeding martial artists of the same realm is one of the characteristics of the top-tier Dao Foundation, 【Primordial Heaven Gold】.

And the increase in the number of Blood Souls was only one aspect of Li Fei becoming stronger.

His strength this time was comprehensive!

Therefore, Li Fei did not take this afternoon's duel to heart; he was currently concentrating on integrating the newly cultivated Innate One Qi into his force, familiarizing himself with his enhanced Primordial Vajra Force.

The Innate One Qi cultivated by 【Green Bone】 was the First Wood True Qi.

The first implant, 【Steel Armor】, cultivated Geng Metal True Qi, which manifested as extreme sharpness.

Meanwhile, the First Wood True Qi of 【Green Bone】 manifested as extreme vitality!

The two types of True Qi, one internal and one external, were pure to the extreme, without any impurities, which happened to allow the perfect combination of the two extraordinary abilities, "Tyrant Body" and "Jade Bone."

A knock suddenly came from outside the door.

Li Fei slowly stopped circulating his force: "Come in."

Lu Wenxing pushed the door open and entered: "Marquis, there is an emergency situation—Su Yifei is dead."

"Who?"

Li Fei had never heard this name before.

In the residence where Zhu San lived.

The man in the Confucian robe was sipping tea, while Zhu San was reading the intelligence in his hand.

His brow was tightly furrowed, and his expression was becoming increasingly ugly.

"How is it?"

The man in the Confucian robe leisurely took a sip of tea and asked.

Zhu San put down the intelligence in his hand: "It can already be confirmed that Huang Jin killed Su Yifei, and he used our methods."

"He wants to frame us? What for?"

"That's exactly what I can't figure out, damn lunatic!"

Zhu San still couldn't help but curse out loud.

Seeing that everything was going smoothly, a lunatic suddenly jumped out to stir up trouble—who wouldn't be annoyed?

After cursing, Zhu San forced himself to calm down.

"He went to the Inspection Department last night, and then Li Fei released Shentu Yue. Immediately after, he went to kill Su Yifei and even tried to frame us. Based on these signs, I think he has chosen to cooperate with Li Fei, wanting to get rid of us and break free from our control."

Zhu San stated his judgment.

"What makes him so confident?"

The man in the Confucian robe asked curiously.

Having been in contact with the New Heaven Society for so many years, Huang Jin should understand the power of this organization better than outsiders.

With his own leverage in the hands of the New Heaven Society, to suddenly choose to cooperate with the imperial court, wanting to eliminate the New Heaven Society and break free from control—

This kind of thinking was simply too idealistic.

Even if one took a step back and assumed the New Heaven Society was truly gone, could Huang Jin really walk away unscathed? Would the imperial court let him go? Would the Red Dust Pavilion let him go?

Zhu San also shook his head: "I also can't figure out what makes him so confident."

"It seems this chess piece has become completely uncontrollable."

The man in the Confucian robe put down his teacup and said indifferently:

"Throw it away."

At 1: 0 PM, the street where the Red Sleeve Pavilion was located was already a sea of people.

Over a hundred armed inspectors were maintaining order at the scene, isolating a large open space outside the Red Sleeve Restaurant to serve as the venue for the upcoming duel.

To avoid the onlookers being accidentally injured, the Stop-Conflict Department also dispatched a group of experts to stand in the front row, responsible for neutralizing the aftermath generated by the clash between the two great powerhouses later.

In fact, for an occasion like this, having a Martial Arts Grandmaster presiding would be the safest.

But Chi Chengyu did not show up today.

He was currently overwhelmed!

First, the people from the Entering the World Society were being investigated, and as the Vice President, he could not just ignore it.

Then, early this morning, he learned that Su Yifei was dead, murdered by someone.

The one who murdered Su Yifei was a martial artist, so this case fell under the jurisdiction of the Martial Conflict Department.

Chi Chengyu immediately established a special investigation team, with himself serving as the team leader.

Under these circumstances, he truly had no time to go and watch Shentu Yue's martial arts match.

Whether she wins or loses, this match is now irrelevant to the big picture.

Inside the Red Sleeve Restaurant, Huang Jin accompanied Shentu Yue.

After the restaurant's proprietress, Shao Sirou, was taken away, the restaurant had closed, only reopening today, and it was only receiving the two of them, Shentu Yue and Huang Jin.

Huang Jin stood behind Shentu Yue, looking at his junior martial sister's back, a flash of burning intensity in his eyes.

Last night, he had realized a truth:

The New Heaven Society could ignore Shentu Yue's situation this time, and they could just as easily ignore it next time.

As long as he remained under the control of the New Heaven Society, he would never be able to protect his junior martial sister from them.

If one day the New Heaven Society decided to deal with Shentu Yue, what should he do?

Thus, Huang Jin went to find Li Fei and proposed a partnership.

Even if it were incredibly difficult, he had to give it his all!

"Senior martial brother?"

Shentu Yue's perception was very keen; Huang Jin's gaze made her aware of something, and she turned to look.

Huang Jin had already returned to his normal state and smiled at Shentu Yue:

"Junior martial sister, from now on, I will not let what happened before happen again."

Shentu Yue smiled slightly, not taking it to heart.

This experience was also an unprecedented blow to her.

And she was not the kind of weak woman who needed others to stand up for her.

"Li Fei!"

Shentu Yue silently recited this name in her heart.

She had never looked forward to a martial arts match as much as she did at this moment!

"So many people?"

Just at this moment, a voice leisurely echoed through the long street.

"Such profound internal energy."

Shentu Yue was startled; she stood up and walked to the main entrance.

She saw a middle-aged man wearing a scholar's robe standing on the roof of the teahouse opposite the Red Sleeve Restaurant.

The man had an elegant temperament, as if he had come here to enjoy tea.

He glanced at the dense crowd below, finally looked at Huang Jin standing beside Shentu Yue, and smiled slightly:

"I have come to kill someone; once I am done, I will leave and not disturb your match."

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(End of chapter)