Chapter 715: Opening the Tomb

In the blink of an eye, Zhu Fenghua broke through his realm to become a Martial Arts Master!

This was something You Ming had not anticipated, because the construction of a martial arts foundation is inherently a process requiring extreme caution and care; it cannot be disturbed by the slightest outside interference, otherwise, all previous efforts might be wasted!

That he could still successfully break through while under the effect of his 【Heart Sword】 was beyond You Ming's comprehension.

As for Zhu Fenghua, what he had always pursued was a simultaneous breakthrough in both martial arts and the path of techniques; while breaking through to become a Martial Arts Master, he also intended to condense his True Spirit, step into the True Spirit Realm, and become a True Person of this age.

But now, he had voluntarily abandoned this goal he had pursued for many years.

He broke through to become a Martial Arts Master in an instant, but failed to further break through to become a True Person; firstly, because he was not yet prepared, and secondly, because at the moment of the breakthrough, he used his techniques to "guard the path" for himself, blocking the interference brought by the 【Heart Sword】 while simultaneously using it as a "stepping stone" for his martial arts breakthrough.

The profoundness of dual cultivation in techniques and martial arts allowed Zhu Fenghua to accomplish the impossible, but he also lost the chance to ascend to the heavens in a single step.

This was Zhu Fenghua's "defeat"; he was not defeated by You Ming, but by himself.

After the breakthrough, Zhu Fenghua's state of mind was not clouded; instead, he somewhat understood his master's intentions.

He had always pursued "ascending to the heavens in a single step," wanting to break through the realms of martial arts and techniques simultaneously; while it seemed like confidence, was it not also a form of cowardice?

It was precisely because he feared that a single breakthrough would not allow him to go further that he was so obsessed with breaking through both realms at once.

If I break through one realm first, does that mean I won't be able to break through again in the future?

Am I lacking the courage to face such a result because I have seen the predicaments of my senior brothers and sisters?

This was the question Lin Tianyi wanted Zhu Fenghua to face directly!

And so, Zhu Fenghua made his choice.

He knew You Ming dared not kill him; if he did not break through, he would still retain the chance to ascend in a single step, and at worst, he would only be defeated by You Ming.

Being defeated by a dual-ability Martial Arts Master while in the Dao Foundation stage is no disgrace.

But Zhu Fenghua would not accept such a result; he would rather abandon years of effort than give You Ming the chance to defeat him!

I can lose to myself, but I will not lose to you!

Why is a defeated mindset more suitable for breaking through? Because as long as Zhu Fenghua was willing to accept his own failure, he could break through immediately.

After Zhu Fenghua broke through, You Ming had no intention of continuing to fight him, because his goal had already been achieved.

Severely wounding Zhu Fenghua was to ensure the other party would not enter the Tomb of Tianshui.

Now that Zhu Fenghua had broken through to become a Martial Arts Master, he was even less likely to enter the Tomb of Tianshui.

You Ming retreated decisively.

Zhu Fenghua controlled two flying swords to pursue him, the two sword lights carrying the force of a flood dragon.

Although he did not break through in the path of techniques, the dual cultivation of techniques and martial arts meant that after Zhu Fenghua's martial arts breakthrough, the power of his flying swords also rose to a new level!

You Ming knew that once he was entangled by the two flying swords, it would be very difficult to shake off Zhu Fenghua.

He ignored the two flying swords and instead thrust a sword in two different directions.

The landing points of the sword lights were precisely the two disciples of the Tianyi Tower!

These two disciples had been severely wounded by You Ming from the start, and then their minds were suppressed by Zhu San's techniques, leaving them in a coma.

Zhu Fenghua and You Ming's fight had almost turned the entire mansion into ruins, but both had intentionally avoided these two disciples of the Tianyi Tower.

This was also the basis for Zhu Fenghua's judgment that You Ming did not want to kill anyone.

But at this moment, You Ming had suddenly moved to kill these two disciples!

The cost and consequences of killing Zhu Fenghua versus killing two ordinary disciples of the Tianyi Tower were completely different.

You Ming was now forcing Zhu Fenghua to make a choice:

Will you save your two senior brothers, or watch as I kill them both?

Zhu Fenghua chose to save them.

The two flying swords suddenly turned, intercepting the sword lights You Ming had thrust.

By this time, You Ming had already leaped high into the air, and a black boat rose into the sky, with Zhu San carrying him once again.

The black boat turned into a streak of light and flew into the distance; during this process, Zhu Fenghua did not strike again.

The two sword thrusts You Ming made just now were not the full extent of the threat, because if he really wanted to kill, he could have just used the 【Heart Sword】, and Zhu Fenghua wouldn't even have had a chance to intercept.

So this was also You Ming's warning: If you dare to continue blocking me, I will use the 【Heart Sword】 to kill your two senior brothers!

Zhu Fenghua watched the black boat disappear into the horizon, his eyes deep and dark.

From the moment You Ming suddenly broke into the mansion to his departure on the flying boat, the entire process had taken less than three minutes, and the two had exchanged less than a hundred moves.

At this time, Li Fei and the others were still outside the mansion of the guesthouse.

When he saw the familiar black boat rise into the sky, Li Fei realized that something had happened over there.

"Let's go!"

He called out and was the first to rush toward that direction.

A few minutes later, Li Fei arrived at the mansion where Zhu Fenghua and the others were staying.

It was already a ruin, and many people were gathered around.

When he arrived, Zhu Fenghua was in the middle of treating his two senior brothers.

"Zhu Fenghua?"

Li Fei had not met Zhu Fenghua before, only heard him described by others.

Li Fei had sensed the commotion from Zhu Fenghua's breakthrough from far away, and seeing him in person now, he immediately understood that it was Zhu Fenghua who had broken through just moments ago.

"Yes, I am Zhu Fenghua."

Zhu Fenghua nodded calmly at Li Fei.

"I am Li Fei."

Li Fei replied.

The conversation between the two caused a stir in the surrounding crowd.

Many people had traveled specifically to Tancheng just to witness the duel between these two, never expecting them to meet under such circumstances.

"Greetings, Marquis of Jing'an."

Zhu Fenghua cupped his hands in a salute.

"Greetings, Master Zhu."

Li Fei returned the salute and said with some regret:

"I had hoped to witness your brilliance in the Tomb of Tianshui, but unfortunately..."

He now knew who had used that Dao force at the Profound Scene level earlier.

At that time, Zhu Fenghua had not yet broken through, yet he had displayed Dao force at the Profound Scene level with his Dao Foundation stage cultivation!

Such a thing, Li Fei had only seen in his master, Hao Yi.

Before Hao Yi broke through at the age of 25, his Dao force was only at the Entry level.

Later, after his breakthrough failed, he went to Xingcheng and spent over thirty years recultivating.

Through thirty years of tempering and insight, Hao Yi only recultivated his realm, while his blade techniques and Dao force had been constantly rising.

By the time he returned to his peak, on the day he raided the execution grounds, the Dao force he displayed was already at the peak of the Profound Scene level!

Later, after breaking through to the Master realm, he used his Material Refining ability to strike the final Heaven and Earth Blade.

His master had said that the blade had already reached the level of Creation!

By comparison, Zhu Fenghua had reached the Profound Scene level of Dao force with Dao Foundation stage cultivation in even less time than Hao Yi.

This made Li Fei hold Zhu Fenghua in even higher regard, and also feel more regret that he could not compete with him at the same realm.

Hearing Li Fei's words, a faint smile appeared on Zhu Fenghua's dark face:

"It is indeed a pity."

His master wanted him to fail once, and the initial target was Li Fei, so he was also very curious if Li Fei truly had the strength to make him fail.

At this time, the government officials had also arrived; the Chief Inspector of the Inspection Court and the Head of the Stop-War Court had both come.

Over a hundred inspectors surrounded the ruins and began to drive people away, clearing out all the onlookers.

Upon discovering that Li Fei was also at the scene, the Chief Inspector and the Head of the Stop-War Court of Tancheng immediately came before him to salute and ask for his instructions on how to handle the matter.

"This matter is related to a case I am currently investigating; leave the follow-up to me, and you all handle the aftermath."

Li Fei said.

The two imperial officials nodded repeatedly, indicating there was no problem and that they would follow the Marquis of Jing'an's orders.

Afterward, Li Fei came to Zhu Fenghua:

"The person from earlier had killed disciples of the Red Dust Pavilion and also attacked me. Does Master Zhu know why he came to attack you?"

Zhu Fenghua said frankly: "He was likely trying to stop me from entering the Tomb of Tianshui."

"Oh?"

Li Fei's expression shifted.

Zhu Fenghua briefly recounted the process of their fight.

After listening, Li Fei was lost in thought.

This Martial Arts Master from the New Heaven Society did not want Zhu Fenghua to enter the Tomb of Tianshui; why?

Was there something inside the Tomb of Tianshui that the New Heaven Society wanted, leading them to eliminate a strong rival in advance?

This was the first point that came to Li Fei's mind.

"Master Zhu, may I ask, is there anything you must take away when you enter the Tomb of Tianshui this time?"

Li Fei asked.

Zhu Fenghua looked at Li Fei and shook his head:

"My master only told me to enter the Tomb of Tianshui; he did not tell me I must take anything."

"I understand, thank you."

"You're welcome."

Seeing that Li Fei intended to leave, Zhu Fenghua suddenly called out to stop him:

"Marquis of Jing'an."

"Hm?"

"Regarding the person who attacked me, if you have any news in the future, could you please inform me as well?"

Zhu Fenghua asked.

"No problem."

"Many thanks."

"You're welcome."

Afterward, Li Fei left that place.

That same evening, news that Zhu Fenghua had been attacked by a Martial Arts Master and was forced to break through to become a Martial Arts Master herself spread throughout the entire city.

"I heard that Martial Arts Master killed the personal disciple of the Red Dust Pavilion Master earlier."

"I heard the opponent possesses two divine abilities."

"Two divine abilities? And she could still break through on the spot? It's too unbelievable! If you ask me, before Zhu Fenghua broke through, she was the true number one on the Wind and Cloud General Ranking!"

"And before breaking through, Zhu Fenghua even unleashed Dao energy at the Profound Scene level!"

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Originally, Yan Dongchen breaking through to become a Martial Arts Master and Li Fei receiving a spear strike from him should have been the topic of heated discussion.

But now, the spotlight had been completely overshadowed by Zhu Fenghua!

Compared to Li Fei receiving a spear strike from Yan Dongchen after his breakthrough, the fact that Zhu Fenghua could unleash Profound Scene level Dao energy with a Dao Foundation realm cultivation base, then successfully break through in front of a dual-ability Martial Arts Master, and finally force them to retreat, was clearly more unbelievable and even more thrilling!

Although Li Fei had also forced You Ming to retreat, that was under the circumstances where a Martial Arts Master had arrived; no one would think You Ming ran away because he was afraid he couldn't beat Li Fei.

But this time, Zhu Fenghua had broken through on the spot and forced You Ming to retreat by her own power.

Plus, Zhu Fenghua had used Profound Scene level Dao energy before her breakthrough.

So now, many people felt that if Zhu Fenghua hadn't broken through, she would have been the true number one on the Wind and Cloud General Ranking!

It was a pity that Zhu Fenghua had already broken through; the peak showdown between the two was ultimately not to be.

"This New Heaven Society definitely has a major move targeting the Tomb of Heavenly Water this time."

In the room, Xiang Dongliang said to Li Fei with a grave expression:

"They might have mastered some method to accurately predict the location where the cracks appear, thereby getting inside ahead of us."

Li Fei: "If that's the case, they could have completely filled the quota in advance; there was no need to specifically attack Zhu Fenghua."

If attacking Zhu Fenghua was to eliminate a powerful competitor, that would assume the New Heaven Society could also send people into the Tomb of Heavenly Water.

But if the opponent could enter the Tomb of Heavenly Water, they could just fill the quota directly; after all, once the number of people entering exceeds a certain limit, the cracks disappear.

"Perhaps they can't send in that many people without alerting everyone? Or maybe they can only send in one or two people at most?"

Xiang Dongliang said.

After Zhu Fenghua was attacked, Tianshui City and the Red Dust Pavilion dispatched more personnel to search the cordoned-off area to ensure the New Heaven Society hadn't ambushed anyone in this zone.

Li Fei, Shentu Yue, and others had even personally gone to search it again this afternoon.

That Martial Arts Master from the Red Dust Pavilion who possessed a concealment divine ability had been following Li Fei and Shentu Yue; he was skilled in concealment, and naturally, he was also skilled in breaking concealment.

He had not discovered any abnormalities within the cordoned-off area either.

Now, the manpower in that area had increased several times over compared to before; with people almost everywhere, it was indeed very difficult for the New Heaven Society to hide people inside without a sound.

Li Fei nodded: "There is indeed that possibility, and it's also possible that Zhu Fenghua didn't tell the truth, and the New Heaven Society's attack on her has nothing to do with the opening of the Tomb of Heavenly Water this time. In any case, we will meet force with force and water with earth."

Regardless, for him, whether the New Heaven Society had designs on the Tomb of Heavenly Water or not, he was going in.

If they had no designs, he would go in and smoothly take the Heavenly Water Soul Bone.

If they did have designs, he would thwart their plans and then take the Heavenly Water Soul Bone.

It was just that simple.

"This is a Domain-Breaking Talisman. The Principal specifically had me bring an extra one; you should carry them both on you."

Xiang Dongliang handed Li Fei a wooden box, inside which were two jade pendants.

These jade pendants were engraved with runes on both the front and back, faintly exuding a sharp aura.

This was a Domain-Breaking Talisman.

The Tomb of Heavenly Water was a Dead Domain; one could only enter from the outside through automatically formed cracks.

But the cracks were very unstable, existed for a short time, and would disappear once the number of people passing through exceeded a certain limit.

Therefore, those who entered the Dead Domain could not use the cracks to get out.

The Domain-Breaking Talisman was created for this reason.

To manufacture such a Domain-Breaking Talisman, a Grandmaster had to take action personally!

A portion of a Grandmaster's Martial Arts Domain was attached to the talisman, crafted through special means, allowing one to break open a crack from inside the Dead Domain to let people out.

It was just that different Martial Arts Domains naturally repelled each other upon contact, and even the Dead Domain was no exception.

Therefore, after holding a Domain-Breaking Talisman and entering the Dead Domain, the power on the talisman would be continuously worn down by the Dead Domain until it completely vanished.

Before the power of the Domain-Breaking Talisman dropped below a certain critical value, the people inside had to use the talisman to get out.

Because such talismans were extremely difficult to manufacture and required a Grandmaster to expend their own power, those entering usually only carried one.

But Shi Caiming had specifically prepared an extra one for Li Fei, just in case he ran into an accident.

Li Fei accepted the wooden box, feeling somewhat moved.

Under the night sky, the mountain forest was brightly lit.

Squads of people were patrolling among the trees.

On a hillside outside the cordoned-off area, Zhu San and Ye Zhao stood there, quietly watching the lights in the distance.

They had previously been inside that area, but they had already left, and it appeared they had no intention of going back in.

"It's about time."

Zhu San suddenly said.

Upon hearing this, Ye Zhao became uncontrollably excited.

Suddenly, a violent fluctuation erupted from within that area!

If one were to view Tianshui City and the surrounding region as a lake, it was as if a giant boulder had been thrown into the lake, and the resulting ripples spread far and wide.

The Tomb of Heavenly Water had opened!

PS: One chapter today.

(End of chapter)