Chapter 760: Top Secret! Matters of the Western Continent

At two in the morning, the headquarters of the Inspection Pavilion was brightly lit.

Pavilion members arrived at the headquarters one after another by carriage.

It was obviously no small matter that could rouse these bigwigs from their beds in the middle of the night and bring them to headquarters.

In the very center of the Inspection Pavilion headquarters stood a grand hall, which was where the Inspection Pavilion held its meetings.

All major matters requiring decisions from the Pavilion Master and Vice Pavilion Masters were deliberated here.

Inside the grand hall, the Inspection Pavilion Master, Lou Hongtao, had already arrived.

Besides him, there was one Vice Pavilion Master and three pavilion members in the hall.

Apart from these people, Li Fei, dressed in a golden robe, sat to one side.

Lying at his feet were three people; they were precisely the three Westerners, Tuso, Luen, and the others.

Tuso's vitality far exceeded that of other martial artists at the same Foundation Establishment realm, so even though his internal organs were all damaged, he was still not dead.

After capturing him alive, Li Fei used the markers in the Dream Realm to successively capture the other two Westerners.

After capturing the three, Li Fei brought them directly to the Inspection Pavilion headquarters and notified Lou Hongtao.

And so, this current formation came to be.

"Everyone is here; let us begin."

After two more pavilion members arrived at the hall, Lou Hongtao, who was sitting in the main seat, said in a deep voice.

He had not summoned all the members of the Inspection Pavilion, only those responsible for intelligence work in the Western Continent.

"I ask the Marquis of Jing'an to explain the situation to everyone."

The people present turned their eyes to Li Fei, who was resting with his eyes closed.

Li Fei opened his eyes, pointed to the three people lying at his feet, and said:

"These three are Western spies I captured. Last night, they conducted a secret transaction with someone, trading two hundred Star Stones for over thirty martial arts manuals, including one top-tier Foundation Establishment legacy and a set of peerless martial arts that complements it."

"How is that possible?!"

As soon as Li Fei finished speaking, everyone present, except for Lou Hongtao, changed color.

"I have captured both parties to the transaction; the Star Stones and the manuals are all here—caught red-handed."

Li Fei calmly took out a cerulean Star Stone and two manuals, placing them on the table to the side.

"Star Stones!"

The few people present were responsible for intelligence on the Western Continent, so they recognized this precious material unique to the Western Continent at a glance.

Trade between the two continents had been ongoing for decades, and even at its peak, the total number of Star Stones circulating in the market did not exceed one hundred.

Yet Li Fei said this transaction involved two hundred Star Stones!

If this were true, it would seem plausible that they could trade for a top-tier Foundation Establishment legacy and peerless-level martial arts.

But a top-tier Foundation Establishment legacy involved too much; tonight's affair might be no less significant than the three major cases that shook the capital recently.

Could it be that the 'three major cases' were about to become the 'four major cases' so soon?

"I ask the Marquis of Jing'an to explain in detail how you discovered these people? And who was the other party trading with the Westerners?"

Lou Hongtao asked in a deep voice.

Thus, Li Fei gave a rough account of his experience tonight.

He did not say that he found them through the art of the 'Dream Realm,' only that he relied on a certain secret technique and possessed a special sensory ability.

Regarding this, Lou Hongtao and the others were not suspicious.

Now, the high officials of the imperial court all knew that Li Fei had spent three full months in the Imperial Library, so it was quite normal for him to have learned some unique secret technique.

"Last time, I handed over important witnesses to the Pavilion, but in the end, they died. They won't die again this time, will they?"

Li Fei asked.

Once these words were spoken, the grand hall fell silent, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

Lou Hongtao's expression remained unchanged: "I have already reported to the palace and requested that His Majesty send the Imperial Guard to assist the Inspection Pavilion in guarding these prisoners."

This statement made several pavilion members change color slightly.

In truth, the experts of the Inspection Pavilion, the Stop-Goe Pavilion, and the Justice Pavilion were not necessarily inferior to the Imperial Guard, but the mobilization of the Imperial Guard carried an entirely different meaning.

"Good."

Li Fei nodded with satisfaction.

He could not keep watch over Tuso and the others forever; eventually, he would have to hand them over.

Moreover, Tuso and the others, as well as the four Foundation Establishment dead-men, still had oath-based techniques on them that required the Justice Pavilion to resolve.

"Everyone, is there any information in your intelligence regarding members of the Deni Kingdom's royal family?"

Lou Hongtao asked the few people present.

"Pavilion Master, the secret agents under my command have always maintained surveillance on these people from the Deni Kingdom, but... we did not discover that there were royal family members among them."

One pavilion member said cautiously.

Lou Hongtao looked at him, expressionless: "Then do you have a grasp on when and from where they transported so many Star Stones, or when they made contact with the other party and negotiated the trade for the top-tier Foundation Establishment legacy?"

The pavilion member hurriedly stood up and bowed: "It is this subordinate's dereliction of duty!"

Subsequently, Lou Hongtao questioned the other pavilion members in turn and exchanged information with them.

Listening to their conversation, Li Fei finally understood that the Inspection Pavilion had known all along that there were Western spies in Lanling City and had been secretly keeping track of their movements.

What puzzled him, however, was why the Inspection Pavilion had not moved to arrest them earlier, to the point of letting such a situation arise today?

A moment later, Lou Hongtao finished speaking with the pavilion members and instructed them to go about their respective tasks.

Afterward, someone came to report that the dead-men in the valley outside the city had all been brought back.

Hearing this result, Li Fei finally relaxed.

After he captured Tuso and the others and arrived at the Inspection Pavilion headquarters, he had immediately asked Lou Hongtao to arrange for people to go outside the city to meet up with Lu Wen and the others.

Now that everyone had been brought back, tonight's operation could be considered successfully concluded.

After everyone was locked in the prison at the Inspection Pavilion headquarters, Lou Hongtao said to Li Fei:

"Marquis of Jing'an, please come with me."

Li Fei stood up and followed Lou Hongtao out of the grand hall and into the small pavilion where the other had his personal office.

After the two went up to the second floor, Lou Hongtao dismissed the others, leaving only himself and Li Fei in the entire pavilion.

Then, a profound aura emanated from Lou Hongtao's body, shrouding the small pavilion.

"The power of a divine ability?"

Li Fei sensed this aura and realized that Lou Hongtao had already used a divine ability to seal off the area!

"Pavilion Master Lou?"

He looked at Lou Hongtao, realizing that what the other was about to say was likely extraordinary.

Lou Hongtao looked at him: "Was the Marquis of Jing'an just about to ask why, since the Inspection Pavilion had long since grasped the movements of these Western spies, we did not make arrests earlier?"

Li Fei nodded: "Yes, I ask Pavilion Master Lou to enlighten me."

"Actually, the reason is simple: because the imperial court is also conducting transactions with Western nations."

Lou Hongtao said calmly.

These words shocked Li Fei; he narrowed his eyes and then gave a self-deprecating smile.

This answer was both unexpected and yet within reason, leaving him speechless.

"Just like the Star Stones you brought out tonight, the Western Continent has many rare materials that the Eastern Continent lacks, which are very valuable for trade. Even if the two continents have engaged in bloody wars before, it does not affect the trade between them."

Lou Hongtao explained to Li Fei.

Li Fei regained his composure: "Including using top-tier martial arts manuals for trade?"

Lou Hongtao shook his head: "That, naturally, is not allowed."

"Not to mention top-tier martial arts manuals, using any martial arts manuals or martial cultivation resources to trade with the Western Continent, once verified, is treated as treason!"

"But this kind of thing cannot be completely prohibited."

Lou Hongtao wore a mocking expression and shook his head:

"For many factions, taking out a low-value martial arts manual and some ordinary martial cultivation resources can be exchanged for ten times or more the profit. How could they not be tempted?"

Li Fei was silent.

The logic was just that simple; for ten times or more the profit, there would always be people willing to take the risk!

As for the big picture or the future, how could they compare to the immediate benefits before one's eyes?

"So that is the reason the Inspection Pavilion did not move against those Western spies. Rather than letting other factions secretly trade with the Western Continent, it is better to keep the trade channels in the hands of the imperial court. This way, the court can both profit and keep track of the situation's development at any time."

Li Fei said.

On one hand, they prohibit trading martial arts manuals and resources with the Western Continent and punish others for treason.

On the other hand, they secretly trade with the Western Continent themselves.

This sounds very ironic and absurd, but it is precisely the reality.

And thinking about it carefully, Li Fei had to admit that this was the choice that maximized the imperial court's interests.

"This matter is primarily handled by the Military Council, with the Inspection Pavilion only assisting. The ones overseeing the big picture are the Senior Grand Secretary and His Majesty."

Lou Hongtao said to Li Fei.

Li Fei nodded; no wonder the other had reported to the palace immediately.

"The Deni Kingdom royal family member I fought tonight, relying only on the power of his own bloodline, was at most comparable to a 7th-tier Foundation Establishment combat strength, but with his martial cultivation added, his combat strength was even stronger than many people on the current Wind and Cloud Ranking!"

Li Fei looked at Lou Hongtao:

"Is the imperial court not worried about raising a tiger that will eventually devour its master?"

Lou Hongtao: "Naturally, I am worried. However, the Marquis of Jing'an need not be too anxious. Even if the Western Continent truly masters our top-tier martial cultivation resources, it is very difficult for them to cultivate too many experts."

As he spoke, he began to explain the situation of the Western Continent to Li Fei in detail:

The Western Continent holds Transcendents and God-Gifted Ones in high esteem; these people who possess powerful strength are almost all nobles there, so the power hierarchy of the Western Continent is also based on noble ranks.

The noble titles of the Western Continent are the same as those of the Eastern Continent: King, Duke, Marquis, Count, Viscount, and Baron.

Under normal circumstances, a Baron's combat power is equivalent to a martial artist at the Body-Breaking Realm.

A Viscount's combat power is equivalent to a martial master at the Qi-Transformation Realm.

A Count's combat power is equivalent to the Dao-Foundation Realm.

A Marquis's combat power is equivalent to a Martial Arts Master.

A Duke's combat power is equivalent to a Grandmaster.

The most critical part lies in the rank of "King"; whether it is a Prince or the highest King, their combat power is higher than a peak Grandmaster, but lower than a Martial Saint.

"People of the Western Continent rely on bloodline power, much like some kind of humanoid exotic beast. However, the human body has its limits; even if the purity of the bloodline power reaches the extreme and the strength is pushed to the limit, it still cannot compare to a true Grade Nine exotic beast."

Lou Hongtao said:

"Does the Marquis of Jing'an know that the legendary Grade Nine exotic beasts actually have not mastered complete Dao principles?"

Li Fei was startled and shook his head.

He truly did not know this; he only knew that Grade Nine exotic beasts were enough to compare to Martial Saints and True Monarchs.

And Martial Saints and True Monarchs are both peak powerhouses who have mastered Dao principles; if Grade Nine exotic beasts have not mastered Dao principles, what do they rely on to compare to peak powerhouses?

Lou Hongtao saw Li Fei's confusion and smiled: "Although Grade Nine exotic beasts have not mastered complete Dao principles, they possess unimaginably powerful bodies; their physical strength and vitality are incredibly strong!

As the saying goes, quantitative change leads to qualitative change. When vitality is strong to a certain level, even by just grinding away, these Grade Nine exotic beasts are enough to rival Martial Saints and True Monarchs. Even if Martial Saints and True Monarchs want to kill them, it is very difficult to do so."

"Uh."

Li Fei was stunned.

The more he listened, the more he felt that his future template might be a legendary Grade Nine exotic beast?

"The Transcendents of the Western Continent, even when their bloodline power reaches its limit, still cannot escape the shackles of the human body. They have no way to compare to those Grade Nine exotic beasts whose bodies are as large as mountains, so their power ceiling is naturally restricted—Martial Saints and True Monarchs are realms they can never touch."

Lou Hongtao said.

Li Fei frowned slightly: "But can't they incorporate implants and walk the path of martial arts cultivation like us? I saw that royal family member from the Deni Kingdom tonight; he clearly used the power of martial arts to become stronger."

Lou Hongtao shook his head: "The Great Dao is fifty, the Heavenly Derivation is forty-nine; there is nothing perfect in this world. The Transcendents of the Western Continent possess innate bloodline advantages and do not need to work very hard to rival our years of bitter cultivation, so naturally, there are flaws.

This flaw is the cultivation of martial arts and technique arts. They succeed because of bloodline power and fail because of bloodline power. With this bloodline power, they are born with impure bloodlines, and they will be restricted everywhere on the path of cultivation.

Just like the most powerful Grade Nine exotic beasts can never master complete Dao principles, no matter how hard people of the Western Continent try on the path of cultivation, their achievements will only be lower than those of Grade Nine exotic beasts."

"This..."

Li Fei felt somewhat confused.

Don't people of the Eastern Continent also rely on the bloodline power of exotic beasts when they step onto the path of cultivation?

Why are the people of the Western Continent, who are born with bloodline power, restricted everywhere on the path of cultivation instead?

"In martial arts cultivation, the further up you go, the lower the reliance on implants becomes. In the final step of reaching the peak of martial arts and technique arts, one can only rely on oneself."

Lou Hongtao continued to explain:

"Combined with the cultivation situation in the Western Continent, the Imperial Preceptor once had a hypothesis."

"Oh?"

Li Fei immediately became curious, wanting to know what the hypothesis of True Monarch Xiang Yunshu was.

Lou Hongtao did not keep him in suspense:

"The Imperial Preceptor believes that perhaps our most pure human bloodline of the Eastern Continent is the bloodline most favored by the Heavenly Dao. We use implants just like humans use tools, using implants to build a ladder to heaven for us.

But in the end, we still rely on our own strength to master Dao principles. Other exotic beast bloodlines, as well as the bloodlines of the Western Continent, are abandoned by the Heavenly Dao and will never be able to approach the Great Dao."

Li Fei was thoughtful, then smiled:

"The Transcendents of the Western Continent all think they are people favored by heaven; I really wonder what they would think if they heard this hypothesis from the Imperial Preceptor?"

Lou Hongtao also laughed: "They enjoyed the dividends of their innate bloodlines, so naturally they must also accept the evil consequences brought by their innate bloodlines."

Li Fei suddenly thought of a question:

"Pavilion Master Lou, what about the other ordinary people in the Western Continent? Will they also be restricted?"

Lou Hongtao nodded: "Yes, the ordinary people of the Western Continent just have thin bloodline power, so they did not trigger transcendent power. But their bloodlines are also born impure; even if they are not Transcendents, they will still be restricted in cultivation."

That is even more miserable.

Li Fei: "In that case, the royal family member of the Deni Kingdom I met tonight can be considered a genius in martial arts, being able to cultivate to the Dao-Foundation Realm while being restricted."

"Indeed, this person can certainly be considered a genius in martial arts. If there were no restrictions brought by bloodline power, his ceiling might be much higher than it is now."

Lou Hongtao said, "The Military Affairs Department and the Inspection Pavilion have also sent secret agents to the Western Continent. According to the intelligence gathered over these years, we have a rough estimate:

Among one thousand people here, about one person can become a martial artist. But in the Western Continent, one in ten thousand might not even be able to become a martial artist.

The higher you go, the greater the difference in the number of martial arts powerhouses will be. As for the number of Transcendents on their side, it is also far lower than the number of our martial artists."

Hearing this, Li Fei breathed a sigh of relief.

At least the situation was much better than he thought.

But even so, trading top-tier Dao-Foundation inheritances and peerless-level martial arts to the Western Continent is still a very malicious act!

Even if people in the Western Continent are born restricted in cultivation, Transcendents like Tuso who have cultivated to the Dao-Foundation Realm have appeared.

If they master stronger Dao-Foundations and martial arts, there might be a batch of people with stronger combat power!

Therefore, although the imperial court has been trading with the Western Continent in secret, high-level Dao-Foundations and top-tier martial arts are already the limit of the trade; any cultivation methods and resources beyond that are absolutely forbidden!

"Is there large-scale promotion of martial arts and technique arts cultivation in the Western Continent?"

Li Fei asked.

Lou Hongtao shook his head.

"Why?"

Li Fei was surprised.

Clearly, promoting cultivation methods is a method that can definitely narrow the combat power gap with the Eastern Continent.

"Because it is not conducive to governance."

Lou Hongtao answered Li Fei with one sentence, his eyes meaningful.

"."

Li Fei understood.

The Western Continent divides noble and base, and classes purely by bloodline; social oppression will only be more severe than in the Great Lan Dynasty!

The channels for upward mobility are also far inferior to the Great Lan Dynasty.

So once cultivation methods are promoted on a large scale, the impact will be very serious!

This difficulty is probably several times harder than Ye Ze pushing for the Mingxin Reform in the Great Lan Dynasty!

"And there is another key point: the Western Continent has no exotic beasts, and cultivation resources are scarce."

Lou Hongtao said.

"That is also true."

Li Fei nodded.

He looked at Lou Hongtao: "Why did Pavilion Master Lou suddenly want to tell me these things tonight?"

Many of these contents are secrets among secrets!

Lou Hongtao: "You captured those Western spies and broke the secret trade; there must be a result for the aftermath of this matter, and it is difficult to hide many inside stories from you.

Moreover, with your current status and position, you also have the authority to know these secrets."

Li Fei narrowed his eyes.

Lou Hongtao was speaking in riddles.

Listening to the other party's meaning, the follow-up handling of tonight's incident is likely to be different from what he thought.

Otherwise, there would be no need for Lou Hongtao to go to such trouble to tell him so many inside stories first.

However, Lou Hongtao did not say it explicitly, so Li Fei did not ask further.

He thanked Lou Hongtao and then got up to leave.

Early the next morning.

Someone came from the palace; it was the imperial eunuch Feng Cheng.

Lou Hongtao and Li Fei went to welcome him.

Outside the main gate of the Inspection Pavilion headquarters, Feng Cheng stood quietly, followed by a team of Imperial Guards clad in golden armor with a mighty aura.

The leader was a commander of the Imperial Guards, with the cultivation of a Martial Arts Master!

"Eunuch Feng."

Lou Hongtao and Li Fei walked out of the gate and bowed to Feng Cheng.

Feng Cheng returned the bow: "Greetings, Lord Lou, Marquis of Jing'an."

"His Majesty has an edict for me to hand over a team of Imperial Guards to Pavilion Master Lou; they will cooperate with Pavilion Master Lou to guard the prisoners from now on."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Lou Hongtao bowed.

Just to hand over a team of Imperial Guards, there was no need for Feng Cheng, the Grand Eunuch of the Inner Court, to make the trip himself.

So the point remained a matter of posturing.

Feng Cheng looked at Li Fei and said with a smile: "Marquis of Jing'an, His Majesty summons you to the palace."

Li Fei was startled.

He had applied for so long to enter the palace to see the Emperor, and today he finally received the summons.

Afterward, Li Fei and Feng Cheng traveled by car to the Imperial Palace.

The car drove into the Imperial City, proceeding without obstruction all the way into the depths of the Imperial Palace.

Then the two got out of the car, and Feng Cheng led Li Fei toward a palace.

Li Fei looked at the road and realized it was not the way to the Imperial Study, so he could not help but be startled and asked softly:

"Eunuch Feng, may I ask where His Majesty intends to summon me?"

Feng Cheng turned around, a smile still on his face:

"At the Hall of Mental Cultivation."

Li Fei suddenly understood.

The Zhenlan Hall is where grand court meetings are held, while the Hall of Mental Cultivation is where 'small court meetings' take place.

Usually, the Emperor summons important officials to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to discuss state affairs.

Compared to the Imperial Study, the Hall of Mental Cultivation is much more formal.

In the past, whenever Li Fei was summoned, it was always in the Imperial Study; this time, it had been changed to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

The implications of this made him ponder it a bit more.

Soon, Li Fei was led into a palace.

Compared to the grand and magnificent Zhenlan Hall, this palace was much more exquisite and elegant, and not as large in area.

Inside the palace, on the main seat directly in front, sat a figure in a dragon robe; it was the current Son of Heaven.

To the left and right were two rows of seats, with no raised dais, which brought the distance between the Emperor and his officials much closer.

At this moment, a person sat on each of the seats to the left and right:

Ye Ze, Wenren Zheng.

One was the head of the civil officials, the other the pinnacle of the military generals; both were pillars of the Empire!

Li Fei was stunned for a moment; he had originally thought the Emperor was summoning him alone today, and had not expected such a 'top-tier' scale.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."

Li Fei walked with large strides into the hall and bowed to the Son of Heaven in front.

"Rise, sit."

The Emperor's expression looked very calm, and his tone was neither cold nor indifferent.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Li Fei walked to the left and sat beside Ye Ze.

This Grand Secretary, who had played three games of chess with him not long ago, looked straight ahead and did not pay him much mind.

"Grand Secretary, continue."

The Emperor said.

Clearly, the three of them had already been discussing matters before Li Fei arrived.

Ye Ze spoke slowly, addressing the matter of the Blue Inspection Pavilion:

"Representatives from the twenty-three provinces have all arrived in the capital, and the identities of the participants from all regions have been confirmed."

Li Fei listened quietly from the side.

Today was already February 27th, and the day after tomorrow would be March 1st, the day of the first referendum for the Blue Inspection Pavilion.

Listening to Ye Ze's introduction, Li Fei learned that the referendum the day after tomorrow would actually be conducted via national television broadcast.

The previous National Martial Arts Exchange Tournament had been broadcast on national television once; the Blue Inspection Pavilion referendum the day after tomorrow would be the second time.

At that time, live broadcast sites would be set up in every region, and the participants in the referendum would cast their votes on national television in front of the entire country's citizens!

(End of chapter)