Chapter 737: Clouds and Storms Rise in the Northern Frontier, Lan Ling Meets the Martial Sage (6000+)

Above the mountain peak, Shi Caiming withdrew the palm he had pressed against Li Fei's dantian.

"The consciousness of the eighth-grade Heavenly Water Azure Soul Beast has completely merged into the Heavenly Water Soul Bone. If I were to act to erase its consciousness, the Heavenly Water Soul Bone might erupt in a total frenzy, causing damage to your Dao foundation. Therefore, I only acted to seal its consciousness and severed the Heavenly Water Soul Bone's continuous absorption of your 'essence, Qi, and spirit'."

Shi Caiming said to Li Fei, "However, a portion of the Heavenly Water Soul Bone has already merged into your Dao foundation; there is no way to cut off its extraction of your body's energy unless you directly sever the Dao foundation's external intake."

After an implant grows to the Qi Transformation stage, it still needs to continuously absorb energy, and this portion of energy is provided by the human body.

Therefore, even without fighting, a martial artist must consume elixirs or special foods that provide energy to maintain the survival of the implants within their body.

This situation continues until the Dao foundation is completely built and the Five Elements form a self-sustaining cycle, allowing for the absorption of Five Elements Qi from the outside world.

In other words, for those below the level of Martial Arts Master, a martial artist's supplies are very important.

A Dao Foundation stage martial artist cannot sustain combat for several days without sufficient supplies. If their internal force is exhausted, they cannot recover in time without eating food or taking elixirs.

A portion of the Heavenly Water Soul Bone inside Li Fei's body has already merged into his Dao foundation, so when the Dao foundation absorbs energy, this part of the Heavenly Water Soul Bone absorbs it along with it.

If the energy supply were cut off, Li Fei's other four types of implants would perish before the Heavenly Water Soul Bone, because the Heavenly Water Soul Bone is far more powerful than those four types of implants.

Therefore, Shi Caiming only sealed the part of the Heavenly Water Soul Bone that had not yet merged into Li Fei's Dao foundation, so that Li Fei would not be drained of his 'essence, Qi, and spirit' at every moment. He also sealed the consciousness of that eighth-grade Heavenly Water Azure Soul Beast, leaving it no chance to awaken again.

In this way, Li Fei at least has no worries behind him and only needs to focus on solving the problem of his own Dao foundation.

"Many thanks, Principal."

Li Fei bowed to Shi Caiming to express his gratitude.

"Go to Lanling City."

Shi Caiming said to Li Fei, "I will write a secret letter to His Majesty to tell him about your problem. Given the high regard His Majesty has for you, he will do everything in his power to help you solve it. Lanling City has Martial Sages and True Lords. Problems I cannot solve do not mean they cannot solve them either."

Li Fei looked at him: "There is no need for a secret letter; I will tell the Emperor myself."

He was not the type of person who insisted on acting tough.

Although he did not want his problems to be known by outsiders, since Shi Caiming could not solve them, he had no choice but to seek help from others.

Fortunately, he currently enjoyed great imperial favor, and he presumed the Emperor would be willing to pay the price to help him.

"Hmm, it is also fine for you to say it yourself."

Shi Caiming nodded, looking at Li Fei with some emotion.

The youth before him was already a towering tree in his own right and did not need to be sheltered by him at every turn.

"I will have Qin Zhen accompany you to Lanling City."

Shi Caiming continued.

The Wind and Cloud General Ranking kept Li Fei permanently on the list, and the entire martial arts world acknowledged Li Fei as the greatest Dao Foundation stage cultivator in history, with combat power comparable to a Martial Arts Master!

But the current Li Fei, let alone a Martial Arts Master, no longer even possessed the combat power of a peak Dao Foundation stage cultivator.

Under these circumstances, Shi Caiming was naturally uneasy about letting Li Fei go to Lanling City alone.

After all, if the New Heaven Society could send one Martial Arts Master to kill, they might be able to send a second.

Li Fei nodded and accepted this kindness.

Although having Qin Zhen accompany him might expose some problems, it was better than being intercepted and killed.

To be assassinated and die in this state would be too frustrating.

"Set off tomorrow."

Shi Caiming said to Li Fei.

After thanking him, Li Fei bid him farewell and prepared to leave.

"Xiao Fei."

Shi Caiming suddenly called out to him.

"Principal?"

Li Fei turned around.

"Have you thought about what you will do if you go to Lanling City and still cannot solve your problem?"

Shi Caiming asked with a serious expression.

Although he said that problems he could not solve did not mean Martial Sages and True Lords could not solve them.

But he was also very clear that some problems could not be solved just by having sufficient strength.

Martial Sages and True Lords could easily kill tens of thousands of people, but sometimes they could not even save the life of a dying person.

Therefore, he wanted Li Fei to be mentally prepared in advance, so as not to have problems with his state of mind when the time came.

If the Dao foundation is gone, it can be rebuilt, but if the state of mind is destroyed, the person is completely finished!

Li Fei understood what Shi Caiming meant, and a confident smile appeared on his face:

"Principal, rest assured, even if Lanling City cannot solve my problem, I will just destroy my Dao foundation and cultivate it all over again!"

It had taken him less than two years to go from an ordinary person to the greatest Dao Foundation stage cultivator in history.

As long as the Ten Thousand Blood Bead inside his body remained, he was full of confidence even if he had to start from scratch!

Hearing this, a smile also appeared on Shi Caiming's face:

"Good, as long as you have such spirit, no matter the result, the Martial University will always keep its doors open for you!"

Li Fei bowed deeply to Shi Caiming and turned to leave.

In the night, Li Fei and Li Tianyu were eating hot pot in the dormitory.

They were not setting off until tomorrow, so Li Fei had invited Li Tianyu to eat at his dormitory that evening.

"Chen's Takeout has been renamed Feixin Takeout, and the delivery company has been officially incorporated into the Feixin Firm."

"Now Feixin Takeout has opened in Datong Prefecture City. You specifically instructed not to use your name, so Chen Gou indeed did not promote it specifically, but besides cooperating with the government, he also started cooperating with the Martial University. Now many students at the Martial University have started ordering takeout. Chen Gou is truly worthy of being called Chen Gou."

"The Qingyuan Property Management Company has also opened in Datong Prefecture City. With the help of the Green-Faced Mountain Villa in promoting it, many neighborhoods have already been brought under management."

"Your Marquis Mansion hasn't been built yet, but dozens of people have already been recruited. Some inspectors who retired from the Inspectorate have become your mansion guards. My dad is keeping an eye on their daily training, so you don't need to worry."

"..."

While eating hot pot, Li Tianyu told Li Fei about the things that had happened during this period.

After Li Fei learned about them, he chatted with Li Tianyu about some problems in her cultivation.

Currently, Li Tianyu was in the late stage of Qi Transformation, still some distance from the peak of the Qi Transformation stage, and needed to slowly accumulate internal force.

Once the strength and depth of her internal force were sufficient, she could begin to work on 'Returning to One' and prepare to break through the realm.

Li Fei's self-created 'Hundred-Day Breakthrough Method' could also be given to Li Tianyu to try at that time, to see if her talent could meet the cultivation requirements.

"I plan to go to the Northern Frontier next."

Li Tianyu suddenly said.

"Ah?"

Li Fei was startled, "What are you going to the Northern Frontier for?"

"The barbarians there have not been peaceful lately and have started to infringe on the borders again, so there is fighting in the Northern Frontier. Vice Principal Qin wants me to go to the real battlefield to gain experience."

Li Tianyu said calmly.

Li Fei frowned subconsciously.

The Great Lan Dynasty dominated the entire Eastern Continent and occupied the Central Plains.

To the west, it bordered the ocean, and across the sea was a Western Continent. The Western nations that posed the greatest threat to the Great Lan Dynasty were all on the Western Continent.

Besides that, to the east were grasslands, to the south were deserts, and to the north were jungles.

As early as the beginning of the founding of the nation, the founding Emperor conquered the north and south, successively conquering the Grassland Royal Court, the four Southern Wilderness nations, and the seventeen Northern Barbarian tribes!

The Grassland Royal Court had long been torn apart by the Great Lan Dynasty, with constant infighting, and was unable to infringe on the borders.

The four Southern Wilderness nations paid tribute every year, and sometimes when they encountered natural disasters, they had to send envoys to ask the Great Lan Dynasty for help, requesting the Great Lan Dynasty to help with disaster relief.

Only the dozen or so large and small barbarian tribes in the northern jungles would cause some friction from time to time.

The terrain there was complex, with treacherous mountains and rivers and changeable weather, making it difficult to deploy troops, and there was no value in conquering it.

There were over a dozen barbarian tribes inside. The founding Emperor had scared them into submission back then, but with the passing of the founding Emperor and the gradual decline of the Great Lan Dynasty's national strength, these barbarian tribes had returned to their old ways.

Once one was beaten into submission, another would come along to cause trouble, so the imperial court had always just sent heavy troops to guard the Northern Frontier and rarely took the initiative to attack.

And the large and small barbarian tribes in the jungle would send people to secretly cross the border line from time to time to enter the Great Lan Dynasty's territory and plunder.

Therefore, there were small-scale battles in the Northern Frontier all year round, so there was no need to specifically bring it up.

Since Li Tianyu just said there was fighting in the north again, it was definitely not the usual small skirmishes; it was at least a war on the scale of thousands or even tens of thousands of people!

The first moment Li Fei heard it, he was opposed to it in his heart and did not want Li Tianyu to take risks:

"Must you go to the battlefield to gain experience?"

"Yes!"

Li Tianyu nodded heavily, "I told you before, Vice Principal Qin said my talent is different from ordinary people, and it is difficult to stimulate my potential through daily cultivation. Only in life-and-death combat can my talent be displayed. There is no place more suitable for me to hone my martial arts than the battlefield."

"... re you going by yourself?"

Li Fei asked.

"No, there are some seniors and senior sisters going together, and the Martial University will send a Dao Foundation stage professor to lead the team."

"How will you gain experience after you go? What position will you hold in the army?"

"..."

Li Fei asked various questions in detail, and Li Tianyu answered them patiently.

Seeing Li Fei silent, Li Tianyu smiled and said with a serious face:

"Xiao Fei, have you forgotten that my dream has always been to become a female general? So I will go to the battlefield sooner or later. And I don't want to become a burden to you in the future. I also want to become someone who can hold her own and become your support!"

Li Fei looked into her eyes, and after a moment, he nodded:

"Good, but you must pay attention to safety and don't lose your head and become reckless just because you've gone wild killing on the battlefield. You must remember that Uncle Li, Aunt Zhang, and I are all waiting for you to come back."

He also figured it out; if she wanted to become a true powerhouse, Li Tianyu would need to go through some tempering sooner or later.

The other party surely would not want to remain under his protection forever.

"Alright, don't worry, I will definitely return safely."

Li Tianyu said with a smile.

After the two finished their hot pot and Li Tianyu left, Li Fei immediately made several phone calls.

Early the next morning, Li Fei found Li Tianyu with a large pile of items:

"Inside here is a Level 5 protective suit made from the scales of a Magic Qilin-Horned Tiger Beast; if the one you are wearing gets damaged, you can switch to this one."

"This gun is a Level 5 exotic weapon; it can enhance metal-attribute force and has armor-piercing properties."

"In the package, there are various elixirs for healing, elixirs for replenishing Qi, elixirs to avoid poisonous gas and miasma, and also the elixirs you need for your cultivation."

"Inside is a small booklet, which is the experience and insights written by martial artists who have been to the Northern Frontier; read it carefully on the road and memorize all the key points mentioned in it; you will definitely need them."

"."

Li Fei was explaining everything to Li Tianyu in detail.

The phone calls he made last night were precisely to prepare these things for Li Tianyu.

With his status as the Marquis of Jing'an, he could purchase some top-tier resources from the imperial court every year.

The Level 5 exotic weapon he gave to Li Tianyu was one of them; such resources, even for a Marquis, could only be purchased once every three years!

When the Martial University sends Li Tianyu and the others to the Northern Frontier, they will certainly provide them with various resources, but those are only basic resources.

If they want better resources, they can only spend academic credits to exchange for them at the school.

Although Li Tianyu has already begun to stand out at school, the academic credits she has earned are not many, and the resources she can exchange for are limited, certainly far inferior to what Li Fei provided her using his status as a Marquis.

"Alright, then I will accept them."

Li Tianyu was not pretentious and accepted these things readily.

"You must pay attention to safety; do not try to be a hero on the battlefield."

Li Fei urged her again.

Li Tianyu, who usually found him nagging, rarely did not retort and nodded obediently in agreement.

"Rest assured, I will take good care of her."

A voice suddenly came from the side.

Li Tianyu turned her head to look and said in surprise: "Professor Xiang? Why are you here too?"

The person who arrived was none other than Xiang Dongliang, who had returned from Gansu Province with Li Fei.

In the original arrangement of the Martial University, a professor with the combat power of the 4th rank of the Dao Foundation Realm would lead Li Tianyu and a total of seven students to the Northern Frontier.

Now, the personnel going includes one more person: Xiang Dongliang, who has the combat power of the 5th rank of the Dao Foundation Realm.

Two Dao Foundation Realm experts leading seven students—such a lineup can be called luxurious!

Moreover, while Xiang Dongliang, with his 5th-rank combat power, might not be able to help much at the Tomb of Tianshui, he is already a top-tier expert to those barbarians in the Northern Frontier.

To be able to make the Martial University make such a luxurious arrangement, of course, the credit goes to Li Fei, this Marquis of Jing'an.

"Xiao Fei..."

Li Tianyu turned her head to look at Li Fei and bit her lip.

Li Fei smiled and said: "Professor Xiang just happened to want to travel to the Northern Frontier, so he will accompany you all."

Of course, no one would believe such words.

In fact, it was because he used three Level 4 protective suits plus some precious elixirs that could help Dao Foundation Realm martial artists accelerate their 'Return to One' that he got Xiang Dongliang to follow Li Tianyu and the others to the Northern Frontier and take extra care of Li Tianyu along the way.

As for the school, Li Fei donated one million in cash in the name of the Marquis of Jing'an!

Shi Caiming takes care of him, but he will not rely on this care to use the human resources of the Martial University at will.

Li Fei had already learned after the fact that Xiang Dongliang had not hesitated to enter the Tomb of Tianshui to save him.

He was very generous when asking Xiang Dongliang for help this time; the same resources were enough to hire two Dao Foundation Realm experts of the same level to take action, and this included his gratitude toward Xiang Dongliang.

As for the one million in cash donated to the Martial University, this certainly far exceeded the price of borrowing a professor.

This was Li Fei's gratitude to Shi Caiming and Qin Zhen; even though neither of them were people who lacked money, the Martial University certainly needed this sum.

With a principal and a vice-principal, having this money would make some of the school's work easier to do.

His experiences in his previous life made Li Fei deeply understand one truth: human relationships must have give and take; blind taking or giving is not conducive to the long-term development of a relationship.

Recent experiences have made Li Fei treat the Martial University as his other home, so he also hopes that the Martial University can become better and better.

"Take care of yourself."

Li Fei said to Li Tianyu at the end.

"You too."

Li Tianyu waved at him.

Afterward, the two parted ways; Li Tianyu went to the train station with the others, while Li Fei went to find Qin Zhen, preparing to go to Lanling City.

More than half an hour later, a black boat rose from the Martial University and soon disappeared into the sky.

April 12th.

Li Fei and Qin Zhen arrived in Lanling City by black boat.

The black boat landed outside the city, and Li Fei and Qin Zhen entered the city on foot.

The reason they did not fly directly into Lanling City was because Lanling City has regulations.

More than a decade ago, the Allied Forces of the Seven Western Nations invaded the Great Lan Dynasty and fought all the way to the gates of Lanling City.

At that time, the planes of the Western Allied Forces circled directly above Lanling City and launched a bombing on this imperial capital!

In the end, it was the Imperial Preceptor Yunshu, together with some experts capable of flight, who joined forces to shatter all these planes, beating the Allied Forces' planes so they dared not take to the sky again.

After this battle, Lanling City added a 'No-Fly Order': without permission, all flying apparatuses and individuals are prohibited from flying over the city.

Li Fei guessed that after that battle, the imperial court must have prepared air defense measures and would not be caught off guard like before.

He did not intend to challenge this 'No-Fly Order', so he steered the black boat to land in advance.

A moment later, he and Qin Zhen entered the outer city of Lanling City.

Soon, the news of the Marquis of Jing'an returning to Lanling City spread out.

When Li Fei arrived outside the Imperial City, the Imperial Eunuch Feng Cheng was already waiting at the gate of the Imperial City.

"Greetings, Marquis of Jing'an."

Feng Cheng took the initiative to bow to Li Fei.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting, Eunuch Feng."

Li Fei returned the bow very politely.

He knew that this Chief Eunuch of the Inner Palace was a Grandmaster who hid his true strength, and he did not dare to underestimate him in the slightest.

A smile appeared on Feng Cheng's face: "His Majesty has an edict, summoning the Marquis of Jing'an to enter the palace for an audience."

"Li Fei accepts the edict."

"Marquis of Jing'an, please."

Thus, Li Fei followed Feng Cheng into a special car and drove toward the inside of the Imperial City.

Many spies guarding outside the Imperial City soon reported this scene to their respective masters.

Thus, all the powerful figures in Lanling City learned that Li Fei had been summoned by the Emperor for an audience as soon as he returned to the city, and it was even Eunuch Feng, the Chief Eunuch of the Inner Palace, who personally welcomed him!

Such imperial favor was truly enviable.

"His Majesty is waiting for you in the Imperial Study."

After leading Li Fei into the Imperial Palace, Feng Cheng brought Li Fei to a corridor and pointed to the door in front, saying to Li Fei.

The Imperial Study is considered a relatively private space for the Emperor; drinking tea, tasting wine, writing, playing chess, reading... these things are all done in the Imperial Study.

If he wants to summon ministers to discuss matters, it is usually in the more formal Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Therefore, if a minister can be summoned by the Emperor in the Imperial Study, it means that this person is considered to be in the Emperor's heart and is treated as a confidant.

Li Fei arrived outside the door of the Imperial Study and saw the bright yellow figure inside at first glance.

The other party was standing with his back to him, holding a brush and writing.

This was Li Fei's first time having a private audience with the Emperor; he was not very nervous, and he walked in with a calm state of mind, cupping his hands and saying:

"Your subject Li Fei, greets Your Majesty."

"Hmm, wait for Me to finish writing this piece of calligraphy."

The Emperor did not turn his head and said very casually.

"Yes."

Thus, Li Fei stood where he was and waited.

A moment later, the Emperor stopped his brush and still did not turn around, only saying:

"Li Fei, come, take a look at this calligraphy."

Upon hearing this, Li Fei walked forward with some curiosity and came to the Emperor's side.

At this time, a five-foot-long piece of rice paper was laid out on the huge desk in the center of the Imperial Study, and eight large characters were written on it with ink:

Peerless Heroic Talent, First in Ancient and Modern Times!

This was a piece of calligraphy that the Emperor had specially written for Li Fei!

If this matter were known to the ministers in the imperial court, I don't know how many people would be green with envy.

"This is what I wrote for you, how is it?"

The Emperor put down his brush, turned his head to look at Li Fei, and was all smiles.

Li Fei turned and bowed: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your great kindness; your subject is overwhelmed."

The Emperor patted his arm, signaling that he did not need to bow:

"What is there to be afraid of? This is what you deserve."

After speaking, he walked to a chair on the side and sat down: "Don't just stand there, sit and let's chat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Li Fei found a round stool and sat down opposite the Emperor, his posture upright.

"Tell me, how did you slay that Martial Dao Master inside the Tomb of Tianshui?"

The Emperor asked with a smile, "Even Wenren Zheng, who usually never concerns himself with martial arts world affairs, is a bit curious about this."

Thus, Li Fei recounted his experiences in the Tomb of Tianshui in general terms; regarding how he defeated You Ming, he explained it as having a unique constitution, powerful vitality, having practiced a special defensive technique, and on top of that, dual-cultivating magic and martial arts, which allowed him to master a unique skill, thus enabling him to defeat his opponent.

After hearing this, the Emperor did not ask what defensive technique Li Fei practiced, nor what unique skill he had mastered.

He was more concerned about the matter Li Fei mentioned at the end:

"You said the consciousness of that eighth-grade Tianshui Azure Soul Beast merged into the Tianshui Soul Bone, and then merged into your body? Do you have any serious issues?"

Li Fei stood up and bowed to the Emperor once more:

"This is the reason why your humble servant rushed back to Lanling City early this time; your humble servant has a favor to ask."

The Emperor's expression turned serious:

"Speak."

Thus, Li Fei told the Emperor everything that Shi Caiming had said to him.

After hearing this, the Emperor did not hesitate in the slightest and turned his head to call out:

"Someone come."

"Your Majesty."

Feng Cheng appeared at the entrance of the Imperial Study.

"Go and ask what the Grand Marshal is doing right now. If there is nothing urgent, have him come to the Imperial Study."

The Emperor said.

In the Great Lan Dynasty, there was only one person known as the Grand Marshal—Wenren Zheng.

The Emperor was going to have the 'God of War' Wenren Zheng come to help Li Fei solve his problem directly!

Li Fei bowed again: "Thank you for your great grace, Your Majesty!"

The Emperor looked at him: "You are my peerless talent; how could I not care? Rest assured, as long as there is a glimmer of a chance, I will do my utmost to help you solve this problem!"

Li Fei thanked him again.

In all honesty, if he did not have a soul from another world, facing such a Son of Heaven, he would certainly be wholeheartedly willing to die for him.

It was just that some things were carved into his bones, making it impossible for him to become a qualified loyal subject like the people of this world.

He could only repay him in his own way.

Inside the Imperial Study, Li Fei sat down again to chat with the Emperor.

More than twenty minutes later, footsteps came from outside the door.

Soon, a tall figure stepped into the Imperial Study.

One of the Seven Martial Sages, the 'God of War' Wenren Zheng, had arrived!

PS: I will not deliberately suppress the cultivation realm. Writing this book up to now, the protagonist has gone from an ordinary person to slaying a Martial Dao Master in less than two years; when have I ever suppressed his combat power or realm? Is this speed not fast enough?

The protagonist hasn't even integrated the fifth implant yet, and there is still a distance to go before breaking through the realm. Even if the Dao foundation has no issues, doesn't it take a few chapters to write the process from normally integrating the fifth implant to breaking through the realm?

No matter how fast it is, it wouldn't be that he just triggered the fourth core-level extraordinary ability in the previous chapter and breaks through the realm in the next, right?

So don't be impatient; every good climax needs sufficient foreplay~

(End of chapter)