Chapter 697: Dead Zone

March 12th.

Feng Province, Wu'an University.

Qin Zhen walked alone up the small hill where Shi Caiming lived.

Today, for a rare change, Shi Caiming was neither smoking nor drinking, but instead reading a document in his hands.

"Principal."

Qin Zhen walked to Shi Caiming's side, his posture straight and rigid.

"The Tomb of Tianshui in Gan Province is about to open. How are the preparations coming along?"

Shi Caiming put down the document in his hand and turned his head to ask Qin Zhen.

Qin Zhen: "Everything is prepared, but the final candidates still need to be confirmed. We have three spots this year."

Shi Caiming said quite casually: "Li Fei happens to be in Gan Province right now; give him one of the spots."

Qin Zhen: "But wouldn't his current status be a bit inappropriate? Besides, he is currently under imperial orders to investigate a case."

Shi Caiming laughed: "What about his status? Just because this kid was ennobled as a Marquis doesn't mean he isn't a student of my Wu University anymore? He hasn't even graduated yet. Besides, this kid signed an agreement back then; even if this matter were taken before the throne, I would still be in the right."

As he spoke, he handed the document in his hand to Qin Zhen.

Qin Zhen took the document and glanced at it; it was indeed the agreement Li Fei had signed back then.

"Send this to the Central Secretariat. I haven't written a memorial in many years either; have someone write one for me. I want to borrow a person from His Majesty."

Shi Caiming said.

With his status, he naturally had the qualifications to "reach the ears of the Son of Heaven directly."

With the agreement sent to the Central Cabinet and him writing a memorial to the Emperor, it would be impossible for anyone to find fault with this matter ever again.

Qin Zhen saw through Shi Caiming's intentions: "You want Li Fei to be able to gain something in the Tomb of Tianshui, don't you?"

"I want Wu University to have the greatest harvest. The number one on the overall Wind and Cloud Ranking—isn't he the most suitable candidate?"

Shi Caiming did not admit it, but upon mentioning Li Fei's "number one on the overall Wind and Cloud Ranking," he revealed a look of pride.

This was an achievement no other university had ever attained, and one that would be very difficult to reach for many years to come!

Qin Zhen smiled, did not expose him, and turned to leave.

On the lawn, the old man began to drink leisurely.

Gan Province provincial capital.

Half a month had passed since Huang Jin was killed.

In these past half a month, the investigation by He Jian and the others into the New Heaven Society had suddenly become much smoother.

In truth, everyone knew clearly that this was the Entering the World Society exerting influence from behind the scenes, intentionally handing over many clues to He Jian and the others.

When Huang Jin had come to find Li Fei back then, he had said that the Entering the World Society and the New Heaven Society had a partnership, but he had not mentioned the specific details of the cooperation.

Upon learning that the New Heaven Society might be related to the assassination case at the Altar of Heaven, the Entering the World Society decisively chose to sever ties with the New Heaven Society.

Liu Jiehui and the others were members of the New Heaven Society, but they knew many things about the cooperation with the Entering the World Society, which was why they were silenced by the Entering the World Society.

The Entering the World Society wanted to make a clean break, but the New Heaven Society refused to let them have their way, intentionally luring Li Fei and the others from Feng Province to Gan Province.

Now that the people of the New Heaven Society had killed Huang Jin, they had completely torn off the mask with the Entering the World Society, which was why the Entering the World Society began helping He Jian investigate the case.

However, there was a bottom line in all this:

The Entering the World Society would never admit that they had ever cooperated with the New Heaven Society!

Li Fei and He Jian could investigate the case if they wanted, and they would cooperate, but the clues they provided were "castrated" versions, ensuring that the matter would not implicate themselves.

Regarding this, He Jian's response was to play along for now. After all, investigating a case in Gan Province required the help of local forces, and having the assistance of the Entering the World Society would make things much smoother.

During this process, Li Fei put most of his energy into cultivation.

He was indeed not good at investigating cases; if there was a need for him to use his "secret arts," he would take action.

The rest of the time, he would either cultivate on his own or assist Xu Xiao in his "Hundred-Day Breakthrough" cultivation.

After the 【Green Bone】 broke through to the Qi Transformation Realm, the next step was to stimulate the core-level extraordinary ability, and then he could incorporate the final type of implant.

However, the more implants incorporated, the greater the difficulty of deep-level stimulation. If Li Fei wanted to stimulate the core-level extraordinary ability of the 【Green Bone】, he needed to experience more bitter battles.

But at the current stage, any opponent capable of bringing him a sense of pressure had to be at least a Martial Arts Master, and it could not be a mere sparring match; it had to be a life-and-death struggle.

Therefore, Li Fei was actually somewhat looking forward to that Martial Arts Master from the New Heaven Society coming to assassinate him again.

Since the 【Green Bone】 could not break through for the time being, Li Fei shifted his focus to his blade techniques, diligently practicing the three stances of Dao Power created by Hao Yi that Shi Caiming had taught him:

On flat ground, a middle-aged man in a Daoist robe engaged in combat with Li Fei, holding a sword.

Every move the man made was Dao Power; his sword techniques were grand and majestic, like the rising morning sun, with ten thousand rays of light!

Compared to him, Li Fei's moves were like flickering candlelight, which would be extinguished by a single gust of wind.

No matter how he struggled, the candlelight could not compete with the morning sun, so Li Fei was completely suppressed.

At one moment, countless brilliant sword lights completely enveloped Li Fei, and then the sword light dimmed; a towering giant tree appeared, with flowers condensed from flames on its branches.

The next second, the flowers were blown off, turning into sparks filling the sky, illuminating the world.

The middle-aged man in the Daoist robe thrust his sword out with a light touch, and suddenly, shining stars appeared in the air, as if the Milky Way were hanging in the sky.

In such a scene, the "fire trees and silver flowers" appeared eclipsed.

Li Fei's body was pierced by one sword Qi after another!

He stopped attacking, and the middle-aged Daoist priest before him also stopped; the sword light, the stars, and the sparks all ceased.

It was as if the entire world had been pressed on the pause button.

"Still too forced."

Li Fei looked at the middle-aged Daoist priest in front of him and shook his head.

This Daoist priest was none other than the Martial Arts Master of the Great Luo Sect whose subconscious world he had once broken into—True Person Qingxie!

A Daoist priest wearing a Daoist robe, who looked even older, appeared out of thin air beside Li Fei:

"Junior Brother Qingxie's swordsmanship was even praised by Uncle-Master Taiyu, and his Dao Power had long since reached the peak of the Profound Realm. You are indeed still a bit green to try and compete with him in moves."

This old Daoist priest who had suddenly appeared was True Person Qingding, whose true soul was stored within the Dream-Entering Order.

Li Fei and he were both in a dream at this moment.

A major feature of the Nightmare Sect was using dreams to simulate special environments and specific opponents, thereby honing martial arts.

Li Fei had never lacked opponents in the past; his growth history was a history of slaughter.

Now that his strength had reached a certain height, it was very difficult to find suitable opponents.

At this time, the arts of the Nightmare Sect demonstrated their value.

Li Fei was already a Great Mage of the Possession Realm; using the Dream-Entering Order, he could simulate opponents at the level of a True Person or a Martial Arts Master.

He had once entered the subconscious world of True Person Qingxie and absorbed a portion of the other's martial arts consciousness; coupled with the assistance of True Person Qingding, he had successfully simulated True Person Qingxie in the dream.

But the True Person Qingxie before him still did not possess one hundred percent of the original's strength.

"About seventy percent of Junior Brother Qingxie's strength."

True Person Qingding said as much.

"Seventy percent, huh?"

Li Fei was lost in thought.

This True Person Qingxie possessed three divine abilities + Profound Realm level Dao Power; he was among the very top tier of Martial Arts Masters!

Li Fei naturally could not win if he competed with the other in moves, but even if he unleashed his full strength to fight him head-on and exhausted all his blood souls, he still could not kill the other.

And the "seventy percent" estimated by True Person Qingding must have discrepancies with the reality; after all, reactions during a real battle were very difficult to truly simulate, and this was the foundation of a powerhouse.

For a sword master like True Person Qingxie, without truly fighting him, one would never know what kind of brilliance his sword would bloom with!

"Fighting a Martial Arts Master while in the Dao Foundation Realm, and you are challenging a powerhouse like Junior Brother Qingxie—how are you still looking unsatisfied?"

True Person Qingding looked at Li Fei's expression and couldn't help but ask.

Li Fei smiled and did not explain.

He was unsatisfied with the result of the battle with True Person Qingxie because he wanted to defeat an opponent whose strength was even above Qingxie's.

Withdrawing from the dream, Li Fei slowly opened his eyes.

Every day, he would engage in combat with the simulated True Person Qingxie in the dream, only stopping after his virtual thoughts were mostly consumed.

In fact, with the assistance of True Person Qingding, the strongest opponent Li Fei could simulate in the dream was the late True Monarch Qingxu.

Even if the simulated True Monarch Qingxu did not possess the realm of a True Monarch, he was definitely a top-tier True Person.

But fighting a sword master like True Person Qingxie was more rewarding, so Li Fei had always chosen to simulate True Person Qingxie.

Getting up and walking out of the room, Li Fei found He Jian, who was processing documents.

They were still living in the compound of the Supervision Department, and almost every time Li Fei came to find He Jian, the other was busy.

"Lord He, is there any progress?"

Li Fei asked his daily question.

"Yes."

He Jian's words made Li Fei's eyes light up, and he walked over quickly.

"Look at this."

He Jian handed Li Fei a document:

"Regarding the Martial Arts Master who killed people that day, we have currently completed the first round of screening and have preliminarily locked onto eleven forces."

Li Fei looked at the densely recorded content on the document and could imagine the massive workload behind it.

"Among these eleven forces, there are Jianghu sects, aristocratic clans, and local powerhouses. Seven of them possess Martial Arts Masters themselves, and the remaining four have the capability to provide mid-three-grade implants, theoretically capable of cultivating Martial Arts Masters involving mind-spirit-related divine abilities."

He Jian introduced to Li Fei.

"What do you need me to do?"

After reading the document in his hand, Li Fei asked.

He Jian: "We need Lord Li to apply his seal to mobilize the local Supervisory Academy to thoroughly investigate these forces."

"Very well."

Li Fei took his golden seal as a Blue Patrol Special Envoy from his bosom and pressed it firmly onto the end of the document.

Once this seal was applied, another storm would surely be stirred up in many places.

After handling matters with He Jian, Li Fei planned to go and guide Xu Xiao to help him complete his "Hundred-Day Realm Breakthrough."

Xu Xiao had a very strong will and sufficient talent; Li Fei estimated that in about three more months, he would be able to successfully complete "Returning to One" and break through to the Dao Foundation Realm!

Just as he stepped out of the room, Li Fei encountered Lu Wenxing.

"Marquis, an oral decree from His Majesty."

Lu Wenxing handed the document in his hand to Li Fei.

In this era, oral decrees no longer required a eunuch to run to the person's presence to read them aloud; they could be completed via telegram.

"An oral decree?"

Li Fei took the document and glanced at it, unable to help but be startled:

"What kind of place is the Tomb of Heavenly Water?"

This oral decree from the Emperor was written very simply, granting Li Fei permission to fulfill the agreement signed with Wu'an University and enter the Tomb of Heavenly Water.

Lu Wenxing looked at him: "When you signed the agreement with Wu'an University previously, did they not tell you about this?"

"The agreement..."

Li Fei recalled for a moment before he remembered.

Back then, he had wanted to exchange for the contract spell "Wood Ghost Binding Curse," as well as the "Diamond Seal" and the "Red Sound Fire Diamond Method" at Wu'an University.

But at the time, he lacked the money and the academic credits.

Wu'an University gave him the opportunity for a "loan," but it required him to sign an agreement: once he broke through to the Dao Foundation Realm in the future, he would have to represent the university to participate in a certain operation.

"I remember now."

Li Fei's expression dimmed slightly because he thought of Wen Ke.

It was Wen Ke who had given him that agreement to sign back then.

He still remembered asking Wen Ke at the time what the survival rate would be if she were the one participating in this operation.

Wen Ke said it was about eighty percent, so Li Fei signed it without hesitation.

"The Tomb of Heavenly Water is a Dead Domain."

Seeing that Li Fei was unclear, Lu Wenxing patiently explained to him:

"A so-called Dead Domain can be simply understood as a dead Martial Dao Domain."

"Martial Dao Domains can die?"

"Generally speaking, when a person dies, their internal energy, divine abilities, and Martial Dao Domain all dissipate. Only the Dao principles of those legendary peak figures might possibly remain after death.

However, the situation with exotic beasts is different from humans; some exotic beasts may leave behind a portion of their power after death. A Dead Domain is a special area created after an eighth-rank or ninth-rank exotic beast dies."

"Such an area can be regarded as a treasure trove; does the university want me to represent the school to explore for treasure?"

Li Fei quickly understood the matter.

"The Marquis is wise."

Lu Wenxing gave a thumbs up and flattered him:

"Because of the unique nature of Dead Domains, some exotic beast tribes will turn them into their race's graveyard, burying their dead there. Since it is a graveyard, it naturally prohibits other creatures from entering.

The Tomb of Heavenly Water is a Dead Domain formed after an eighth-rank Heavenly Water Azure Soul Beast died a thousand years ago, and many exotic beasts of the Heavenly Water clan were buried there afterward. At first, this Dead Domain was completely sealed; if one were to forcibly break in from the outside, it would cause everything within the Dead Domain to be annihilated.

Later, with the erosion of over a thousand years, this Dead Domain inevitably developed issues, and a crack appears every so often, which persists for a period of time before disappearing. Taking advantage of this time, people can enter to obtain those exotic beast skeletons and the precious materials unique to the Dead Domain."

Li Fei asked: "Can only Dao Foundation Realm martial artists enter this Dead Domain?"

Otherwise, Wu'an University would not have chosen to sign this agreement with him.

"Correct."

Lu Wenxing nodded, "The crack is very unstable. If a martial artist above the Dao Foundation Realm or a sorcerer above the Possession Realm enters, it will immediately cause the crack to collapse. Furthermore, too many people entering will also cause problems for the crack. Moreover, there are threats within the Dead Domain, and competition with others is inevitable."

"Understood."

Li Fei said.

If only Dao Foundation Realm martial artists could enter, and the number of people was limited.

Then he, as the number one on the General Ranking of Wind and Clouds, was indeed the most suitable candidate.

"Marquis."

Lu Wenxing's expression suddenly became somewhat strange.

"Hmm?"

"The Heavenly One Pavilion also has a quota to enter the Tomb of Heavenly Water."

"So?"

"Zhu Fenghua might come this time."

(End of chapter)