Chapter 773: Earth-Fiend Flying Sword, The Wrath of Thunder (6000)

"Very well!"

The Emperor was very satisfied with Li Fei's stance and looked toward Yun Shu:

"I leave it to you, State Preceptor."

Yun Shu said to Li Fei, "Relax your mind."

Li Fei followed the instruction, and the next second, he felt a magnificent, lofty, and vast aura descend upon him!

This was Yun Shu's power of Dao rules!

Li Fei's mind swayed, and in a trance, it felt as if a long, long time had passed.

When he came to his senses, he discovered that the Emperor had already left, and only he and Yun Shu remained in the Imperial Study.

"State Preceptor?"

"I have already placed a spell upon you. From now on, if Qiming tries to strike at you again, he will never be able to escape."

Yun Shu said indifferently.

"Many thanks, State Preceptor."

Li Fei bowed to Yun Shu.

"No need to thank me; it is I who should thank you."

As Yun Shu spoke, he took a jade tablet from his sleeve and released it; the tablet flew automatically to Li Fei:

"Inside are the refining methods for three Earth-grade flying swords, corresponding to the high, middle, and low grades respectively. You may use them as reference; consider it my gift of thanks to you."

Li Fei reached out and caught the jade tablet; it felt warm and smooth to the touch:

"High, middle, and low grades?"

Although he was already a Martial Arts Master and a True Person, he actually did not know much about the realms that followed.

The legacy Hao Yi gave him from the Heaven-Stellar Sect stopped at the realm of constructing the foundation of martial arts to become a Martial Arts Master.

As for how to continue incorporating middle-tier implants, refining new divine abilities, or even constructing a Martial Arts Domain, these were things the Heaven-Stellar Sect's legacy did not contain.

As for the path of sorcery, the Nightmare Sect legacy given to him by Zhao Yi also stopped at the realm of True Person and did not include the subsequent "Methods of Heaven-Stellar and Earth-Fiend."

Yun Shu briefly explained a few points to Li Fei:

Ordinary magic treasures are Yellow-grade; life-bound magic treasures that have developed divine abilities are Profound-grade.

To go higher, one must incorporate seventy-two different implants to form the Seventy-Two Earth-Fiend Array; only then can a magic treasure rise from Profound-grade to Earth-grade.

But Earth-grade magic treasures are also divided into high, middle, and low grades:

Low-grade Earth-grade: thirty-six fiends form one divine ability; once the seventy-two fiends are complete, adding the initial divine ability, a total of three divine abilities constitute the Earth-Fiend Array, allowing one to ascend to a top-tier True Person.

Middle-grade Earth-grade: a minimum of twelve fiends and a maximum of twenty-four fiends form one divine ability; ultimately, a total of four or five divine abilities constitute the Earth-Fiend Array.

High-grade Earth-grade: every twelve fiends form one divine ability; ultimately, a total of seven divine abilities constitute the Earth-Fiend Array!

In this regard, the path of sorcery and the path of martial arts are the same.

In martial arts cultivation, to construct a Martial Arts Domain and break through to become a Grandmaster, one needs at least three divine abilities, and they must be three divine abilities that complement each other and can merge into one.

As for the maximum number of divine abilities, just like high-grade Earth-grade magic treasures, the current record for a Martial Arts Domain is also seven divine abilities.

The fewer the divine abilities, the easier it is to construct a Martial Arts Domain or an Earth-Fiend Array, and the lower the difficulty of breaking through the realm.

Conversely, the more divine abilities there are, the greater the difficulty in making them perfectly merge into one, and the harder it is to break through!

But the number of divine abilities not only affects combat power, it also affects the step of reaching the summit in the future.

Each divine ability can be seen as a fragment of the Dao; combining complementary divine abilities is like piecing together several Dao fragments to form the prototype of the Dao.

The final ascent to the summit is to transform the prototype of the Dao into a complete Dao rule.

Therefore, the more divine abilities there are, the more complete the prototype of the Dao pieced together, and the higher the probability of finally transforming into Dao rules!

Simply put, this is a multiple-choice question of "easy first, hard later" or "hard first, easy later."

If one chooses to make the step of breaking through to become a Grandmaster or top-tier True Person easier, then the final breakthrough to become a Martial Saint or True Monarch will be extremely difficult.

Conversely, it is hard first and easy later.

But in reality, for many people, this choice offers no room for selection.

It is like saying, "If I don't become a Martial Saint, is it because I don't want to?"

Those who can become Martial Arts Masters or True Persons are all geniuses!

But even geniuses cannot guarantee that they will be able to ascend to the next level.

To break through and become a Grandmaster or top-tier True Person, many have already exhausted all their strength, and it even includes a bit of luck.

In such a situation, where is there any qualification to choose?

Of course, one does whatever is easier to succeed with!

Therefore, nearly fifty percent of the Grandmasters and top-tier True Persons in the world today actually broke through using three divine abilities.

Besides this, there are others who have sufficient talent and resources but, for various reasons, intentionally choose to break through early using three divine abilities.

After all, even the weakest Grandmaster is still a Grandmaster, stronger than a Martial Arts Master with seven divine abilities!

After hearing Yun Shu's explanation, Li Fei finally understood that the limit for both Martial Arts Masters and True Persons is seven divine abilities.

At the same time, he also understood the preciousness of the jade tablet in his hand!

Whether it is the martial arts cultivation method for constructing a Martial Arts Domain or the magic treasure refining method for constructing the Earth-Fiend system, each one is worth a fortune!

If the value of a complete legacy for a top-tier Dao foundation is one.

Then the value of a complete legacy for constructing a Martial Arts Domain is at least ten!

A legacy for a top-tier Dao foundation might be possessed even by a fallen small sect like the Heaven-Stellar Sect.

But the legacy for a Martial Arts Domain and the magic treasure refining method for the Earth-Fiend system are only possessed by the top powers of the world.

Such things certainly cannot be protected without sufficient strength!

The eleventh floor of the Imperial Library involves divine abilities, and the twelfth floor involves the Martial Arts Domain.

But the content inside is all about methods of application, not specific cultivation techniques.

It is about fighting methods, not training methods.

The same is true for the thirteen universities; they only have fighting methods and no training methods.

Therefore, if Li Fei wants to obtain the subsequent cultivation methods, he can only rely on rewards from the imperial court, exchanging them with sufficient merit.

Yet Yun Shu has now given him the training methods for three Earth-grade flying swords all at once, and they include all three grades: high, middle, and low!

"As expected of the State Preceptor, his generosity is impressive."

Li Fei thought to himself, then bowed to Yun Shu to express his gratitude.

"You are now one in both sorcery and martial arts; in my view, this is a step higher than Lin Tianyi's dual cultivation of sorcery and martial arts. Lin Tianyi only truly achieved the integration of sorcery and martial arts at the final step of reaching the summit, whereas you have already achieved it, leading him by a major realm."

After giving the jade tablet, Yun Shu also offered guidance:

"When you train to form your Martial Arts Domain and Earth-Fiend Array in the future, you will also have the opportunity to merge the two. Therefore, when considering training new divine abilities, do not just consider the complementarity and coordination on the same side; you should take both the sorcery and martial arts sides into account."

Having said this, he raised his hand and tapped the jade tablet in Li Fei's hand, injecting a ray of light into it:

"These are some suggestions I have given; you may take a look."

Li Fei was delighted upon hearing this and thanked him again.

Yun Shu's Dao rule is the Dao of Analysis; since he had just used his Dao rule to observe Li Fei from all angles, the suggestions he gave now were undoubtedly very targeted!

Li Fei is walking on this path today with no precedents to refer to and no peers to consult.

Therefore, any useful guidance and suggestion is very precious to him.

The suggestions given by True Monarch Yun Shu, who possesses the Dao of "Analysis," are undoubtedly the most precious kind!

First giving cultivation methods, then providing guidance and suggestions, Yun Shu's "gift of thanks" was still not finished:

"Ji Yiheng, the Vice Pavilion Master of the Law Enforcement Pavilion, can be considered my unofficial disciple. You can take this jade tablet to find him; if you have any confusion regarding your cultivation in the future, you can consult him."

The Law Enforcement Pavilion only has two Vice Pavilion Masters. Because of the case where the Law Enforcement Pavilion illegally resold exotic beasts and refining materials, Vice Pavilion Master Mi Han has already stepped down, and Yun Shu has been in long-term seclusion.

Therefore, the entire Law Enforcement Pavilion is currently managed by Vice Pavilion Master Ji Yiheng.

With these words from Yun Shu, Li Fei not only has one more top-tier True Person to consult in the future, but also has the connections and support of the Law Enforcement Pavilion!

Leaving the imperial palace, he took a carriage out of the Imperial City and returned to his own mansion.

Li Fei laid out the three tablets in a row on the table:

The "Under Heaven" special-grade token.

The Peace Tablet.

The jade tablet given by Yun Shu.

Today was truly a day full of harvest!

The Peace Tablet was the size of a palm, golden throughout, with a coiled dragon carved on it, and the characters "Peace" written on the front.

Li Fei put it away and placed it in his bosom.

As for the "Under Heaven" special-grade token given by the Third Imperial Prince, he kept it in a box and did not intend to use it for the time being.

Finally, picking up the jade tablet given by Yun Shu, Li Fei injected a stream of true power into it.

The next second, his consciousness came into contact with a vast amount of content.

The refining methods for the three Earth-grade flying swords all required seventy-two middle-tier sorcery-type implants.

It was just that the low-grade refining method used all fourth-tier implants.

The middle-grade refining method used one-third fifth-tier implants.

The high-grade refining method used half fourth-tier implants and half fifth-tier implants.

The higher the grade, the more expensive it naturally is, and the harder it is to refine.

At today's Grand Court Meeting, the Emperor's rewards for Li Fei included a large amount of cultivation resources.

In addition to elixirs, there were also implants, exotic weapons, and protective clothing.

Li Fei made a rough calculation; if he were to exchange all these resources for those required to forge a Earth-grade flying sword, it would be just enough for him to forge a high-grade Earth-grade flying sword!

But he is a flying sword body, which differs from a true flying sword, and the resources consumed would only be more, not less.

Therefore, if he chooses to forge a high-grade Earth-grade flying sword body, the resources currently in hand might not be enough.

However, Li Fei still chose the high-grade Earth-grade without hesitation.

Having reached this point, he would only consider the path of the strongest!

Inside the room, Li Fei soon became immersed in the contents of the jade tablet.

In the Inner City, within a luxurious mansion.

The First Imperial Prince was sparring with the martial arts master Yuan Xin in the training grounds.

After a hundred moves, the First Imperial Prince was sent flying by a punch from his opponent, blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.

"Your Highness, let's stop here for today."

Yuan Xin, who was feeding him moves, said.

The First Imperial Prince wiped the corner of his mouth, his expression somewhat irritable.

"Your Highness has a solid foundation; at the current progress, you are not far from triggering the fifth core-level extraordinary ability."

Yuan Xin praised.

Upon hearing this, the First Imperial Prince's mood did not improve.

He is forty years old this year, and his current cultivation involves five implanted bodies, having triggered four core-level extraordinary abilities; he is at the 7th tier of the Dao Foundation realm.

He cultivates the legendary-level Dao Foundation 【True Dragon Descends to the World】, so his combat power is no worse than the peak of the Dao Foundation realm.

It is only because of his status as an Imperial Prince that he rarely engages in public combat, so his battle record is not prominent.

According to Yuan Xin's estimation, the current First Imperial Prince could actually already be on the candidate list for the Wind and Cloud General Ranking.

Once he triggers the fifth core-level extraordinary ability, he can even make it onto the main Wind and Cloud General Ranking!

Such combat power can be considered very outstanding among the imperial descendants; given time, it is not impossible for him to become a martial arts master.

Among the imperial family members, the one with the highest cultivation is that King Li, who is a human Martial Saint.

Below King Li, the highest cultivation is merely that of a martial arts master; currently, there is no imperial family member seen to have the opportunity to break through to become a Grandmaster.

The First Imperial Prince had regarded King Li as his goal from the beginning; if he could become a Martial Saint, then the choice for the throne would have no more suspense!

It is just that having cultivated to this point, no matter how confident the First Imperial Prince is, he does not believe he can reach the realm of a Martial Saint before the current Son of Heaven passes away.

Therefore, to compete for the throne, relying solely on cultivation is not enough.

"Back then, the Founding Emperor was also a late bloomer; Your Highness is accumulating strength for a great breakthrough, and you will surely become a martial arts master within ten years! At that time, if you can have the Son of Heaven's dragon aura upon you, breaking through to Grandmaster will be a natural outcome, and in the end, there may not be no chance to reach the peak!"

Yuan Xin added another sentence.

He has followed the First Imperial Prince for many years and has long been a true confidant, which is why he could speak with relatively fewer concerns.

The First Imperial Prince's expression eased slightly.

Such a hypothesis is indeed the most perfect!

It is just a pity that it is only a hypothesis.

"Ten years is too long; I fear those two brothers of mine will not give me ten years."

The First Imperial Prince shook his head.

These words caused Yuan Xin's expression to change.

Because the First Imperial Prince's words meant that within ten years, the current situation of the princes fighting for the succession would reach a conclusion!

"If I had known earlier that Li Fei could reach such a situation today, I would never have made that choice back then."

The First Imperial Prince let out a breath and suddenly said.

This was the real reason for his irritable mood.

At the beginning, his targeting of Li Fei was to win over the behemoth that is the Lu family, as well as Xu Jing, the Grandmaster and university president.

At that time, although Li Fei already held the record for the first in history, compared to the Lu family and Xu Jing, he still seemed too insignificant.

But the First Imperial Prince did not expect that Li Fei could step by step reach such a height today.

If he had known this, he would never have made that choice back then!

Yuan Xin, who was on the side, remained silent upon hearing this.

That someone as proud and arrogant as the First Imperial Prince could personally say words of regret shows just how great the psychological impact Li Fei has had on him!

"The Crown Prince, that guy, really has good luck; you have to admit it."

The First Imperial Prince shook his head and sneered.

Born as the Crown Prince, he casually won over a genius, and that genius actually became the number one genius in history!

Besides saying the other party has good luck, what logic is there to speak of?

"Your Highness, a telegram from Feng Province."

A subordinate suddenly ran into the training grounds.

"Bring it here."

The First Imperial Prince reached out his hand.

He took the telegram and read it a few times, his face immediately showing joy:

"Haha, good!"

Yuan Xin, who was on the side, asked curiously: "Your Highness, what happened?"

The First Imperial Prince glanced at him, and he immediately understood, using his internal force to seal the surroundings to prevent sound from leaking out and to avoid being eavesdropped on.

"A telegram sent by Lu Wenzheng, saying that the New Heaven Society leader Qiming is determined to kill Li Fei!"

The First Imperial Prince said.

"Ah? Why?"

"Because as long as Li Fei is not dead for a day, Qiming will always be at risk of exposure and might be tracked down to his specific location by the Imperial Preceptor."

"This!"

"Heaven is truly helping me!"

The First Imperial Prince laughed.

He, along with the Lu family and Xu Jing, could not use those forces that were out in the open to deal with Li Fei.

And their secret forces were not enough to kill the current Li Fei.

Now that there is an additional New Heaven Society and a True Monarch who wants Li Fei dead, their room for maneuver has become much larger.

The First Imperial Prince strode out of the training grounds; he wanted to contact Lu Wenzheng immediately!

March 20th.

The third day after the Grand Court Meeting.

Li Fei walked into the headquarters of the Inspection Pavilion.

He soon arrived at the entrance of the headquarters' dungeon.

"Greetings, Marquis."

The official guarding the dungeon entrance hurriedly bowed to Li Fei.

"Open the door."

Li Fei said while taking out his newly acquired Pavilion Official token.

"Yes."

The other party immediately opened the gate to let him pass.

Passing through layers of security, Li Fei arrived at the third level of the dungeon and walked to a cell in the depths.

He Jian was already waiting there in advance.

After seeing Li Fei, He Jian nodded, said nothing more, and directly opened the cell door.

Imprisoned inside the cell was Qi Jin, who had previously used the 'Star Entry Fate Technique' on Li Fei.

"Repeat to me what you said to him!"

Li Fei looked at Qi Jin with cold eyes and said sternly.

At this time, Qi Jin was no longer in human shape, clearly having been tortured.

He lay on the ground, his eyes somewhat dull, and did not react to Li Fei's words.

Seeing this, Li Fei reached out and struck a green light at Qi Jin.

After the green light entered his body, Qi Jin's spirit lifted, the injuries on his body healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, and his state clearly improved a lot.

This was Li Fei using the core-level extraordinary ability 'Green God' on him.

"Speak."

Li Fei continued to ask.

Qi Jin sat up from the ground and smiled miserably:

"Back then, your master Hao Yi failed his breakthrough because he was hit by my Star Entry Fate Technique; I secretly interfered, which is why he failed."

As his voice fell, a terrifying murderous aura filled this cell!

With a blur before his eyes, his feet left the ground, and he was lifted up by Li Fei, who grabbed his neck with one hand.

"Who instigated you?"

Li Fei asked.

"It was people from the Lu family who found me and provided me with Star Stones."

Qi Jin's face flushed red, and he said with difficulty.

"Let me speak."

He Jian, who was behind him, stepped forward and patted Li Fei on the arm.

Li Fei threw Qi Jin aside and turned to look at He Jian.

And so, He Jian briefly recounted the events of the past:

Thirty-nine years ago, Hao Yi caused a series of disturbances in Datong Prefecture, eventually pointing the finger at the then-Garrison Commander of Datong Prefecture.

At that time, there was no Wu'an University, and most of the entire Feng Province was under the control of the Lu family.

The Garrison Commander of Datong Prefecture at the time had already secretly defected to the Lu family, so when the decision was made to deal with Hao Yi, the other party sought help from the Lu family.

At that time, Hao Yi was almost invincible within his realm, and with the martial arts master Shi Caiming shielding him from above, he was indeed extremely difficult to deal with.

In the end, the Lu family sent people to find Qi Jin and, through trading with Westerners, obtained Star Stones to provide to Qi Jin.

"To think it was the Lu family again!"

Li Fei gritted his teeth.

He had previously checked the archives at Wu'an University and found that when Hao Yi was breaking through his realm, a group of powerful figures from Datong Prefecture had sent experts to stop him, but there were no people from the Lu family among them.

Even Hao Yi himself believed that his failure to break through was due to the interference of those experts who had come to stop him.

He had never considered other possibilities.

After all, the "Star Fate Entry Technique" was far too covert!

"No wonder the Lu family colluded with Xu Jing so early on."

Li Fei suddenly understood many things.

"Lord He, thanks to you, I have finally cleared up the truth of what happened back then!"

Li Fei bowed to He Jian.

After Qi Jin was handed over to the Inspection Pavilion by Li Fei, the Inspection Pavilion invited a True Person from the Law Enforcement Pavilion to break the oath-binding spell on him.

In the end, the oath-binding spell was successfully broken, and Qi Jin was also tortured, revealing many secrets.

However, regarding the matter of using martial arts secret manuals to trade with the Deni Kingdom, all evidence and clues stopped at the Zhao family, and those who had direct contact with Qi Jin were also members of the Zhao family, making it impossible to implicate the Lu family.

But He Jian did not give up on the interrogation of Qi Jin because of this; he still asked about every detail carefully from beginning to end, and in the end, he really managed to extract key information!

He Jian's original intention was to interrogate whether there were any other connections between Qi Jin and the Lu family, so as to find clues about the trade between the Lu family and the Deni Kingdom.

His interrogation skills were too formidable, and with his reputation as the "Ghost Crane," his insight was meticulous, eventually succeeding in prying this past event of Hao Yi out of Qi Jin's mouth through bit-by-bit details.

After He Jian tricked the information out of him, Qi Jin gave up on trying to hide anything.

In any case, the crimes he had committed were enough for him to be executed by firing squad ten times over, so he didn't mind admitting to one more charge.

"This matter happened too long ago, and it is very difficult to find witnesses or physical evidence. Plus, once the Lu family knows he has been caught, they will certainly erase the traces left behind back then. Moreover, Hao Yi did not hold an official position at the time, so even if this matter were confirmed, it would be of no consequence to the Lu family."

He Jian said to Li Fei, "However, if you want to retry the case of Shangguan Xiao in the future, this person's testimony could be of some use."

Qi Jin, on the ground, heard this, his eyes lit up, and he hurriedly said:

"That's right, I am willing to testify! I am willing to identify the Lu family for you, my lord!"

Even if he could not escape death in the end, he would live for as long as he could.

If Li Fei was willing to let him testify against the Lu family in the future, he could at least live a little longer.

Li Fei remained unmoved upon hearing this and only asked He Jian:

"Has this person's testimony been officially recorded?"

He Jian nodded: "It has been recorded, with other officials from the Inspection Pavilion as witnesses; it is valid."

Li Fei's tone was icy: "That will do."

After saying this, he turned to look outside the dungeon and shouted loudly:

"Someone come here!"

A few seconds later, footsteps were heard.

A Pavilion Officer of the Inspection Pavilion in charge of the entire dungeon walked outside this cell with some men:

"Is there something you need, Marquis of Jing'an?"

Li Fei cupped his hands in a salute to the other party: "My lord, I would like to know the final sentencing result for this person."

The Pavilion Officer glanced at Qi Jin: "The final sentencing must wait until we transfer him to the Judicial Pavilion, but given the things he has done, it will certainly be execution by firing squad!"

Li Fei was expressionless: "Apart from execution by firing squad, is there no more severe punishment?"

The Pavilion Officer was startled and looked into Li Fei's eyes: "How does the Marquis of Jing'an want him to be sentenced?"

"Death by a thousand cuts, death by lingering execution!"

Li Fei said every word clearly.

Qi Jin, behind him, trembled and was about to speak, but was suppressed by a powerful force and could not move a single bit.

The current Son of Heaven is benevolent, so the Judicial Pavilion rarely sentences anyone to extreme forms of execution.

The Pavilion Officer standing in front of Li Fei hesitated for a moment and said:

"... have a good relationship with a Grand Judge of the Judicial Pavilion, and with the face of the Marquis of Jing'an, I think this matter should not be difficult."

"Good, how should I address you, my lord?"

"I am Zheng Jun."

"Lord Zheng, I will leave this matter to you. Once it is done, I will certainly reward you handsomely!"

"The Marquis of Jing'an is too polite."

A smile appeared on Zheng Jun's face.

A moment later, Li Fei left the dungeon and returned to his office building at the Inspection Pavilion headquarters.

He picked up the phone and dialed a number.

A few seconds later, a voice came from the other end of the line:

"May I ask who this is?"

"Lord Bian, it is Li Fei."

"Marquis of Jing'an?"

Bian Jingru on the other end of the phone sounded somewhat pleasantly surprised, "I have already received the news of the Grand Court Meeting, congratulations to you!"

Li Fei was in no mood for pleasantries and said straightforwardly:

"Lord Bian, you broke ties with the provincial capital two years ago. In over two years, you should have quite a bit of leverage on them in your hands, right?"

Bian Jingru on the other end of the phone was startled; he heard something wrong in Li Fei's tone and asked cautiously:

"Are you planning to make a move against the provincial capital?"

"Yes."

"... s it a bit too hasty to act now? After all, you have just been promoted. If this gets out, it will inevitably be said that you are using public office for private gain."

"It doesn't matter. After being beaten for so long, it is time to fight back."

"... ood! Since you have spoken, I will cooperate fully on my end!"

"..."

A thousand miles away, Bian Jingru put down the receiver, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

He did not know what had happened to make Li Fei suddenly decide to start fighting back.

But by now, the dominant position in this cooperation between him and Li Fei had shifted.

Since Li Fei had decided to act, he could only cooperate fully.

Bian Jingru walked to the window and looked at the sky outside:

"The sky of this Feng Province is about to change!"

Requesting monthly tickets

(End of chapter)