Chapter 753: All Heroes of the World Enter This City

The situation in Feng Province is clear at a glance; if the referendum is conducted in the way Ye Ze described, the Lu family will certainly be elected.

Even though Li Fei's Marquis Mansion has now been built, and he has the support of Datong Prefecture and Wu'an University behind him, he cannot compare to the Lu family in terms of votes.

Besides Datong Prefecture, Feng Province has two other prefectures, plus a provincial capital, and now, one more university.

Regarding the Dao Foundation realm martial artists and Possession realm grand mages in these places, the Lu family can conservatively estimate they will obtain at least sixty percent of the votes!

"I want to try."

Li Fei looked up at Ye Ze and said this.

Ye Ze was not surprised upon hearing this; he continued to place his stones with a calm expression:

"Apart from the twenty-three members of the Blue Patrol Pavilion, those who are not chosen in the referendum will become reserve members, and there will be a new referendum every year thereafter.

In addition, the Blue Patrol Envoys from the Supervisory Pavilion will also join the Blue Patrol Pavilion to form a patrol team, which will regularly inspect various places every year."

Hearing this, Li Fei somewhat understood what Ye Ze wanted to say to him.

If he or those he supports want to run for a seat as a member of the Feng Province Blue Patrol Pavilion, they likely have no chance.

But having no chance this year does not mean there will be no chance in the future.

This is the first point.

Secondly, as a Blue Patrol Envoy, Li Fei does not need to participate in any election; he can enter the Blue Patrol Pavilion directly and gain the power to supervise everyone!

It seems that this Blue Patrol Pavilion established by Ye Ze is letting local martial arts circles govern themselves, as if it is helping various places form cliques and concentrate power.

In reality, the "rules of the game" for the entire Blue Patrol Pavilion are set by the imperial court; as long as you join, you must play this "game" according to the court's rules.

In this way, the imperial court's control over the local regions will certainly be strengthened.

For example, the Entering the World Society in Gan Province is effectively a local Blue Patrol Pavilion, but after the Blue Patrol Pavilion is established, even if the members are from the Entering the World Society, all the rules will become public, and there will be more restrictions.

The Entering the World Society is equivalent to being "privatized to public," and even if their influence remains strong, it will be unlikely for them to suppress high-ranking officials like Su Xuesong to the point where they cannot lift their heads.

Another example is the forces under the Third Imperial Prince that are secretly colluding with the Rectification Pavilion, scattered across seven or eight provinces.

If the Blue Patrol Pavilion is established, these forces will have to accept the supervision of their respective provincial Blue Patrol Pavilions.

In this way, the forces under the Third Imperial Prince are equivalent to having to accept seven or eight layers of supervision, and the difficulty of secretly committing illegal acts without anyone knowing will become much greater.

Then there is the patrol team that Ye Ze mentioned.

As a Blue Patrol Envoy, Li Fei only has the power to supervise officials and cannot control the martial arts world.

But after the Blue Patrol Pavilion is established, a Blue Patrol Envoy can not only supervise officials in various places but also simultaneously supervise martial arts practitioners in various places!

"Can a Blue Patrol Envoy also serve as a Blue Patrol Pavilion member?"

Li Fei's heart stirred, and he asked.

When Ye Ze first met him, he asked if he had ever thought about being able to decide the affairs of the martial arts world with a single word; this certainly wasn't just a casual question.

"You can hold both positions concurrently."

Ye Ze looked up at Li Fei and said this.

A member of the Blue Patrol Pavilion is still somewhat different from a traditional martial arts alliance leader; they are more like "disciplinary committee members" rather than martial arts world bosses.

Therefore, there is essentially no difference between a Blue Patrol Envoy and a Blue Patrol Pavilion member; both are for supervising illegal and undisciplined acts by martial arts practitioners.

If a Blue Patrol Envoy has the ability, they can indeed serve as a Blue Patrol Pavilion member concurrently.

It is just that among the current Blue Patrol Envoys of the Supervisory Pavilion, the highest cultivation base is only at the Dao Foundation realm, and their combat power is mediocre, so they do not meet the requirements for a Blue Patrol Pavilion member.

Looking at it this way, this rule of Ye Ze's seems to have been specifically set for Li Fei.

This made Li Fei think of many things.

Next, Ye Ze did not ask any more questions, and the two quietly finished the third game of chess.

The first game lasted over eighty moves.

The second game lasted over fifty moves.

The third game actually lasted over two hundred moves!

With Li Fei's chess skill, it was of course impossible for him to truly "tangle" with Ye Ze to this extent; this game was intentional on Ye Ze's part, as he kept guiding him to play.

This was like a very patient instructional game.

Only when there was almost no place left to place a stone did Li Fei resign.

"Thank you for making this trip, Marquis Jing'an. I won't see you out; let Tingzhong see you off."

Ye Ze picked up the teacup beside him, signaling the end of the visit.

Li Fei stood up, bowed to this Grand Secretary, and then turned to walk out of the study.

In the end, Hu Tingzhong personally saw Li Fei out of the Ye Mansion.

A moment later, Hu Tingzhong returned to the study and brewed a fresh pot of tea for Ye Ze:

"Master, what do you think of this Marquis Jing'an?"

Tonight, Ye Ze specifically invited Li Fei to his mansion to have a good look at this Marquis Jing'an.

"Clear-minded, self-restrained, and steadfast."

Ye Ze took a sip of tea and slowly said these three terms.

Hu Tingzhong was stunned; the evaluation of these three terms was extremely high!

He had been by Ye Ze's side for so many years, and very few people had received such an evaluation from his master.

"In the first game, I saw his desire for victory or defeat, and knew he was clear-minded."

"In the second game, I intentionally used strength to bully the weak, yet he remained calm from beginning to end, which shows his self-restraint."

"In the third game, I guided him step by step, yet he remained neither arrogant nor impetuous, which is being steadfast."

Ye Ze signaled for Hu Tingzhong to sit down, and while tidying up the chessboard, he spoke.

Although Hu Tingzhong did not see the three games of chess between Ye Ze and Li Fei with his own eyes, listening to Ye Ze's description, he could roughly guess the situation at the time:

The master's first game was a probe to see the depth of Li Fei's chess skill, but most importantly, to see Li Fei's desire for victory and his attachment to gains and losses.

Many people care about everything and want to obtain everything, yet they have never figured out what they truly want and what they are pursuing.

Li Fei achieved this; this is called being clear-minded.

In the second game, the master intentionally revealed his "killing power" and bullied that Marquis Jing'an fiercely on the chessboard!

With top-tier talent, a high position, and being a martial arts expert himself, even if one doesn't care about winning or losing on the chessboard, when one is in an absolutely weak position in a certain field, it is inevitable to feel some anger.

But the master said Li Fei was calm from beginning to end, which is very rare.

Being able to control one's emotions and desires is called self-restraint.

In the final game, the master must have played an "instructional game," making Li Fei passive everywhere, restricted at every step, and only able to place stones according to the master's wishes.

This game must have lasted the longest, yet Li Fei was still able to remain neither arrogant nor impetuous, not rashly trying to "break out" on the chessboard, nor giving up and placing stones randomly.

Guarding one's original heart, remaining unchanged through all changes, this is called being steadfast!

Being able to receive these three evaluations made Hu Tingzhong look at this Marquis Jing'an with new eyes.

If it were just outstanding talent and formidable martial power, he actually wouldn't care much.

In his heart, only those who can change this world and make it better are true powerhouses!

If it were just the power to rival ten thousand armies and destroy cities and level mountains, even if someone as strong as Lin Tian were to appear, Hu Tingzhong would not think the other party was stronger than his own master.

"Does the master think Li Fei can shoulder a heavy responsibility?"

Hu Tingzhong asked directly.

He knew that the reason his master specifically wanted to test Li Fei was because in the future, regarding the Blue Patrol Pavilion and even the future vision of the Great Lan Dynasty, Li Fei might occupy a very important position!

This Marquis Jing'an is still so young and has such high talent; for the next few decades or even a hundred years, he might be a high-ranking official of the empire, or even a guardian!

Ye Ze did not give an answer directly, but said:

"A long road tests a horse's strength; let's wait and see."

Under the night sky, Li Fei walked alone on the street.

He was recalling the conversation with Ye Ze tonight and those three games of chess.

Actually, he had seen from the very beginning that this Grand Secretary was testing his character.

However, he did not intentionally try to hide himself or show off.

In front of a big figure of Ye Ze's caliber, Li Fei did not think he could hide anything.

So he was calm from beginning to end; it was enough to just be himself.

"Intentionally mentioning rogue cultivators is telling me that if I want to achieve my goals, relying on the imperial court is the best choice."

"Regarding the Blue Patrol Pavilion, he only mentioned members and the patrol team, but didn't mention the Pavilion Master; is he intentionally leaving me a suspense? Or rather, painting a pie?"

"To save oneself, one must first save others; is he telling me that to give first and then ask, I must first provide equivalent value if I want to take revenge on the Lu family and Xu Jing?"

Li Fei kept pondering the conversation with Ye Ze, guessing the meaning behind the Grand Secretary's words.

He had over a decade of official career in his past life, so he was quite adept at pondering such things and believed he shouldn't have thought wrong; after all, Ye Ze spoke quite clearly and directly, without being mysterious.

"The Lu family, Blue Patrol Pavilion member..."

Li Fei's gaze turned cold.

Even knowing that it would be very difficult for him to stop the Lu family from obtaining a Blue Patrol Pavilion member seat in this referendum, he still wanted to try.

Once the Lu family succeeds, the difficulty of him wanting to take revenge in the future will be even greater.

January 15th, the fifth day after the Grand Court Meeting.

The news about the imperial court establishing the "Blue Patrol Pavilion" had spread almost throughout the entire martial arts world.

It could be said that one stone stirred up a thousand waves!

Martial arts sects, aristocratic families, and gang leaders in various places were all passionately discussing this matter.

"Any martial artist who has reached the Dao Foundation realm, or any grand mage who has reached the Possession realm, as long as their background is clean, can join the Blue Patrol Pavilion and obtain the status of a Councilor after assessment. Councilors possess the right to deliberate, the right to vote, and the right to report."

"Anyone who possesses the cultivation of a Martial Arts Master or an equivalent level can apply to obtain the status of a reserve member, after which the Blue Patrol Pavilion Councilors of each province will conduct a referendum to elect the Blue Patrol Pavilion members for that province."

In the provincial capital of Gansu, the Red Sleeve Restaurant has reopened.

Although the restaurant's proprietress has changed, it has not affected the business in the slightest; in fact, because the Marquis of Jing'an, Li Fei, once fought a Martial Arts Master outside the restaurant, its fame has soared, and business is even better than before.

At this moment, many martial artists inside the restaurant are holding newspapers, discussing the matter of the Blue Patrol Pavilion.

The relevant affairs of the "Blue Patrol Pavilion" have already made the front-page headlines of all major newspapers; let alone martial artists, even ordinary commoners now know about this.

The commoners are watching the spectacle, but the martial artists are looking at their own prospects and future!

In a private room, a woman wearing red clothes and a veil sits quietly by the window.

Although the room is well soundproofed, she can still clearly hear the sounds from the entire restaurant.

Because she is Shentu Yue, who just broke the martial arts cultivation record to become the youngest Martial Arts Master in history.

"Ye Ze'an's move is truly a grand gesture, truly a brilliant open plot!"

A man wearing blue official robes embroidered with the sun, moon, and stars sighs with emotion.

He is sitting opposite Shentu Yue; he is none other than Chi Chengyu, who has been ordered to step down and go to Lanling City to "defend himself."

The cabinet member sent by the Central Stop-Gedi to take over his position will arrive soon, so he will also soon have to temporarily take off these official robes.

As for when he will be able to put them back on, or whether he can be reinstated to his original post, he does not know either.

"Does Uncle think the Blue Patrol Pavilion can be successfully established?"

Shentu Yue asks.

Chi Chengyu nods without hesitation: "Certainly."

"When it comes down to it, what martial artists seek is nothing more than 'fame and profit.' The Blue Patrol Pavilion can provide both. So even if they know it is bait, many will voluntarily take the hook."

"There are also some factions that have no choice but to join, such as our Red Dust Pavilion."

"Pudu Temple currently has requests for the imperial court, so they will certainly join."

"The Feathering Sect and the Upper Clarity Sect were implicated by the Great Luo Sect; they are now in urgent need of repairing their relationship with the imperial court, so they will certainly cooperate."

"Finally, it depends on whether Lin Tianyi will give the imperial court this face, and whether the Tianyi Tower will join."

Chi Chengyu analyzes for Shentu Yue.

Shentu Yue is silent for a moment, then asks: "Why must you choose me?"

Chi Chengyu smiles upon hearing this: "Little Yue, your talent and aptitude are enough to shoulder the future of our Red Dust Pavilion! The Master has high hopes for you. Letting you represent the Red Dust Pavilion to compete for a seat in the Blue Patrol Pavilion this time is also to temper you; for you, it is an excellent opportunity to enter the world."

The leader of the Gansu martial arts world is undoubtedly the Red Dust Pavilion, and because of the World-Entry Affair, the Red Dust Pavilion must join the Blue Patrol Pavilion to prove its innocence.

The representative chosen by the Red Dust Pavilion is Shentu Yue, this newly promoted Martial Arts Master.

Shentu Yue turns her head to look out the window, a golden figure appearing in her mind.

This public selection for Blue Patrol Pavilion members will be held openly in Lanling City, so she will be going to Lanling City with Chi Chengyu next.

"I wonder when you will break through your realm? If we meet this time, will there be a chance to cross paths?"

Shentu Yue thinks to herself.

In An Province, a young Daoist priest wearing Daoist robes puts down the phone in his hand.

He is Ning Chuan, who was just ranked second on the overall Wind and Cloud Ranking by "Under Heaven."

After defeating Lan Ruoyun, he actually wanted to make a trip to Lanling City to challenge Li Fei!

Even if he is no match for Li Fei, he wants to see how great the gap is between them, both being at the Dao Foundation stage.

The call he just received was from the Great Luo Sect.

The sect also wants him to go to Lanling City for the sake of the Blue Patrol Pavilion.

"How can this martial arts world not hear the name of the Great Luo Sect?"

Ning Chuan's eyes are resolute as he strides toward the train station.

Liuli Mountain, Pudu Temple.

A thousand-year-old treasure temple.

"Ming Qi, the Abbot has decided to let you represent Pudu Temple to compete for a Blue Patrol Pavilion seat; you should make another trip to Lanling City."

"This disciple obeys."

Ming Qi presses his palms together before the towering Buddha statue.

On this day, this Liuli Buddha-son descends the mountain once more.

Yu Mountain, inside the Heaven Tower.

Zhu Fenghua, who is still cultivating on the seventh floor, suddenly has a premonition.

He stands up and looks up at the ceiling above.

"Go to Lanling City."

A cold voice comes from above.

"Yes, Master."

Zhu Fenghua does not ask why; after bowing, he turns and leaves.

The twenty-three provinces of the Great Lan Dynasty, dozens of martial arts sects with Martial Arts Masters or True Persons, noble families, and powerful gangs.

The Buddhist and Daoist schools.

One Tower, one Pavilion, three Mountains, four Sects, and seven Great Families.

All are sending people to rush to Lanling City.

For a time, winds and clouds rise in the martial arts world.

The heroes of the world all enter this city!

PS: Normal updates resume tomorrow.

(End of chapter)