Chapter 815: Dragon Raises Its Head (6000)

Late at night, Li Fei returned to his own Marquis Mansion.

After the Great Morning Assembly ended today, the Crown Prince invited him alone to the Eastern Palace, and the two chatted for a long time.

They talked about the past, the war in the Northern Territory, and the future.

During the conversation, the Crown Prince's attitude toward him was the same as before; he did not become arrogant because he had seized total power, and he remained as approachable as ever, without the slightest air of superiority.

"As for your Master's wife's case, feel free to go ahead and do it; I will back you up!"

Toward the end of their talk, the Crown Prince said this to Li Fei.

Having received such a promise, Li Fei felt a bit heavy-hearted as he returned to the Marquis Mansion.

It was not that he felt the Crown Prince was untrustworthy; he was simply saddened by the Emperor's physical condition.

Having experienced the betrayal of Qi Zhou, Li Fei had originally thought the Emperor might harbor reservations about trusting him.

After all, Qi Zhou had followed the other party for longer and had once enjoyed deep imperial favor, being trusted and valued.

As it turned out, not only did the Emperor not diminish his trust in Li Fei, he even made an exception to appoint him as a minister of the deathbed edict!

Humans are not made of wood or stone; encountering such a monarch, it was difficult for Li Fei not to be moved.

As a transmigrator with modern thinking, he did not like many of the systems and phenomena of this dynasty, and he also loathed many of the dregs of this era!

He had once thought he could live the life he wanted, enjoying this life to the fullest without caring about any person or matter.

But having been stained by the red dust of the world, there were, in the end, still some people who left a weight in his heart.

After returning to the mansion, Li Fei sat quietly in the main hall for a while, then walked into his private cultivation chamber.

Only through cultivation could he find peace of mind.

Before heading to the Northern Territory, Xiang Yunshu had given him three sets of refining methods for Earth-grade flying swords, corresponding to the high, middle, and low grades respectively.

He chose to cultivate the high-grade Earth-grade flying sword, where every twelve implants could form one divine ability.

Before going to the Northern Territory, he had already refined four types of implants and had initially integrated a fifth.

While in the Northern Territory, he had already completed the refining of the fifth implant.

Now that he had returned to Lanling City, he could continue to refine new implants.

For a high-grade Earth-grade flying sword, every "twelve baleful spirits" could refine one divine ability; "seventy-two baleful spirits" could refine six divine abilities, plus the divine ability from the initial Profound-grade flying sword, totaling seven divine abilities, thereby forming the Earthly Baleful Array!

But Li Fei now knew that he had to walk the path of integrating law and martial arts; his natal magic treasure could have at most three divine abilities, and when the flying sword body broke through to the Earth-grade, it could only be a low-grade Earth-grade.

On this point, Lin Tian was no exception!

However, Li Fei still did not change his cultivation method, choosing to continue refining the high-grade Earth-grade flying sword.

For a low-grade Earth-grade magic treasure, it took thirty-six fourth-grade implants to refine one divine ability; it seemed the number of implants required was higher, and the difficulty would be greater.

But in reality, among the twelve implants refined for a high-grade Earth-grade magic treasure, half were fifth-grade implants.

Starting from the middle-three-grade implants, for every grade difference between implants, the gap was very large.

The difficulty of integrating and refining a fifth-grade implant was more than three times higher than that of a fourth-grade implant!

Combining multiple fifth-grade implants together to refine them into a divine ability was even more difficult.

Therefore, a high-grade Earth-grade magic treasure was not something just anyone could refine, just as rare and scarce as a Grandmaster who broke through the realm with seven divine abilities.

However, this difficulty was nothing to Li Fei.

He had the Myriad Blood Bead to transfer damage, which could ensure the "artifact refining" process had maximum fault tolerance, so he did not need to worry about ruining his natal magic treasure.

Moreover, his natal magic treasure was himself, and his connection to his natal object was unparalleled in the world, making it easy for his own true spirit and natal magic treasure to form a deep-level resonance, thereby quickly pushing the natal magic treasure to complete its strengthening.

For an ordinary True Person, completing the integration and refining of one fourth-grade implant in a year was already very fast.

Even if everything went smoothly, wanting to refine a low-grade Earth-grade magic treasure and break through to become a top-tier True Person would take nearly forty years.

Yet Li Fei could complete the integration and refining of one fourth-grade implant in less than a month, more than ten times faster than an ordinary True Person!

Fifth-grade implants were a bit slower, but they only took a little over two months.

Therefore, compared to cultivating a low-grade Earth-grade flying sword body, cultivating a high-grade Earth-grade flying sword allowed him to obtain new divine abilities faster.

Now he had already completed the integration and refining of five implants, and next, within a year, he would be able to refine the "twelve baleful spirits" and obtain a second spell-type divine ability!

But continuing to cultivate the high-grade Earth-grade flying sword meant that in the future, Li Fei would not be able to gather the "seventy-two baleful spirits" and would not be able to form the Earthly Baleful Array to complete his realm breakthrough.

Regarding this, Li Fei already had a plan in mind.

In the days that followed, he entered seclusion mode once again.

He declined all invitations, spending most of his time every day in the mansion's cultivation room, refining implants at the fastest possible speed.

As for the reinvestigation of Shangguan Xiao's case, the Supervisory Pavilion had already issued an official document.

In the name of the Blue Patrol Special Envoy, Li Fei summoned He Jian's supervisory team and had He Jian take his team members to Feng Province first; the Datong Prefecture Garrison Commander Bian Jingru would cooperate with He Jian and the others to complete the initial investigation work.

Leave professional matters to professional people.

Li Fei did not think he was better at investigating cases than He Jian, so he felt at ease leaving this matter to him.

Of course, relying solely on He Jian, Bian Jingru, and the others to clarify Shangguan Xiao's case was naturally not that easy.

This case was originally uncovered by a special investigation team sent by the Feng Province capital to Datong Prefecture; this involved not only Shangguan Xiao and Hao Yi, but also the Feng Province capital government and the Lu family behind it, as well as the Datong Prefecture government forces led by Bian Jingru.

Back then, for this matter, Bian Jingru had directly memorialized the central government and openly tore his face with the Feng Province capital!

If this case were to be overturned, it would involve a great number of people!

In many matters, what is complex is not the case itself, but the forces involved behind the case.

How would Shangguan Xiao's case be judged in the end? How would the people involved in this case be dealt with?

What determined all of this was not the truth, but the power struggle between the various parties behind the case.

Whoever had the stronger power could determine the final "truth"!

On this point, the situation Li Fei faced was actually exactly the same as the one Qi Zhou had faced back then.

It was just that he was not an idealist like Qi Zhou.

He cared more about whether he could take revenge for Hao Yi and Shangguan Xiao, rather than wanting to change this phenomenon.

Just like when he killed officials in Xingcheng, it was more to follow his own heart than to truly change the world.

Li Fei's self-perception had never been that of a hero for the country and the people.

Although the things the Green-Faced Ghost had done once seemed to possess a chivalrous spirit.

But Li Fei felt he could only be considered a "hero" who lived for himself.

If there was an evil deed happening right before his eyes, he would not hesitate to act, just as he had done in Xingcheng.

But if someone told him how many people were suffering in this world, or what tragic things had happened to someone a thousand miles away.

It was hard for him to be moved by it.

This was the essential difference between him and Qi Zhou.

And he also did not approve of the other party's methods of letting innocent people sacrifice themselves to achieve a goal.

Using wrong methods to achieve a so-called correct goal—this was not Li Fei's Dao.

And what made him feel moved was that, despite having just experienced a betrayal and facing a situation similar to what Qi Zhou had faced years ago, the Emperor still chose to give him the greatest trust!

To return a peach for a plum, Li Fei did not intend to take the opportunity to turn the world upside down over Shangguan Xiao's case.

As long as the mastermind was brought to justice, this grudge would be considered settled.

But there was one point on which Li Fei would absolutely not make any concessions—

Xu Jing and Lu Wenzheng must both die!

One directly led to Hao Yi's death, and the other directed and planned it all from behind the scenes.

Li Fei would not let these two off!

And to achieve this, simply overturning the case was clearly not enough.

Therefore, Li Fei was in no hurry to return to Feng Province, but instead continued to stay in Lanling City, putting all his effort into improving his strength.

Changping University.

The newly appointed Duke Qiu Zi'an arrived atop a volcano; this was the exotic beast breeding area of Changping University. Some exotic beasts needed to grow in volcanoes, so Changping University had used a grand hand to create an artificial volcano!

Qiu Zi'an arrived at the crater and looked at the boiling lava below, throwing the wine jar in her hand directly down.

A few seconds later, a figure flew out from a hole below, just in time to catch the falling wine jar, then struck the rock wall with force, using the momentum to leap upward, finally arriving successfully at the crater.

This person wore a black robe and had a crew cut and a long beard; the whole person seemed to be wrapped in lava, carrying a scorching aura.

"How is it?"

Qiu Zi'an asked straightforwardly.

A smile appeared on the man's face: "It is indeed effective; in six months at most, I will be able to start condensing the third divine ability again!"

Hearing this, a smile also appeared on Qiu Zi'an's face:

"Then this wine I brought was not in vain; let it be a celebration for your return to the peak!"

The man before her was named Fang Ziyan, the Vice President of Changping University.

Eleven years ago, when Fang Ziyan was refining his third divine ability, he had been too impatient, causing his implant to be severely damaged, thereby injuring his foundation.

Since then, his cultivation base had been unable to advance even an inch.

The damaged implant could not be repaired, and it had already deeply integrated with his body, making it impossible to remove.

And if he were to incorporate a new implant, it would likewise affect and be affected by the damaged one.

Therefore, Fang Ziyan would be stuck at the realm of a dual-divine-ability Martial Arts Master for the rest of his life.

Until Qiu Zi'an brought him the "Five-Phase Inverse Wheel Method."

"Hahahaha!"

Fang Ziyan laughed loudly as he opened the wine jar and drank it all in one gulp.

"Good wine!"

With a look of satisfaction, he tossed the wine jar in his hand into the volcano.

"Please pass on a message to the Marquis of Jing'an for me: from now on, whatever he needs, I, Fang Ziyan, will certainly assist with all my might!"

Although his talent is not as great as Qiu Zi'an's, he still has a chance to break through and become a Grandmaster using the Three Divine Abilities.

Therefore, Li Fei letting Qiu Zi'an give him the "Five Phases Inverse Wheel Method" is a true act of great kindness to him!

Upon hearing this, Qiu Zi'an smiled: "I will pass it on for you."

"Old Fang, do you know anyone else in a similar situation to yours?"

"Oh? Does the Marquis of Jing'an want to help more people?"

"Helping is fine, but it won't be for nothing. So, their character must be trustworthy."

Qiu Zi'an said.

Fang Ziyan thought for a moment: "I know a wandering cultivator in the pugilistic world who is stuck at the peak of the Dao Foundation stage. It is also because his implant was damaged, leaving him no chance to break through. If the damaged implant could be repaired and he could start over, he would have a chance to break through and become a Martial Arts Master."

"How is his character?"

Qiu Zi'an only cared about this.

She had promised to help Li Fei recruit more experts, so she would do her best to do it well.

Fang Ziyan: "He is a man who keeps his promises. If you are truly worried, you can also have him swear an oath using a spell."

Qiu Zi'an pondered for a moment: "A wandering cultivator; first ask if he is willing to join the Marquis of Jing'an's estate."

Fang Ziyan: "Alright, I will go ask."

While Li Fei was working hard to improve his personal strength, Qiu Zi'an was also helping him recruit experts everywhere!

Feng Province, Datong Prefecture.

Under the night sky, a black car drove out of a large courtyard.

"My lord, are we returning to the guesthouse?"

In the car, the driver asked Li Lei in the back seat in a low voice.

Reeking of alcohol, Li Lei rubbed his face, looking somewhat weary.

In just a few years, there were already some white hairs at his temples.

Not long after Li Fei was enfeoffed as a Marquis before the throne, he was promoted again—Deputy Chief of Xingcheng and concurrently Chief Inspector of the Supervisory Yuan.

Then, in less than two years, he was promoted another level, dropping the "Deputy" from his title of Chief, officially becoming the Chief in charge of a city's government affairs, promoted to a Level 12 imperial official!

From a small Level 7 official and a squad leader in the Supervisory Yuan, he had been promoted 5 levels in less than four years to become the Chief of a city.

This speed of promotion could be called lightning-fast anywhere!

But because he had a son who was the greatest in history, no one felt surprised.

It was nearing the end of the year, and Datong Prefecture organized a year-end meeting. All the chief officials of the towns within Datong Prefecture had to attend. Li Lei, who had just taken office, also came to the prefecture city and attended meetings for two consecutive days.

During these two days, the meetings were actually not the most tiring part; the socializing was.

The officials who came to the meeting were truly too enthusiastic toward Li Lei!

Various invitations were constant.

Li Lei turned down everything he could, but some invitations were truly impossible to decline, such as those from the Garrison Commander Bian Jingru, and some from higher-ranking officials.

If he had turned all of those down, others would only think he was too arrogant.

Although now, looking across the entire Datong Prefecture, even Bian Jingru did not dare to raise his voice at Li Lei, Li Lei did not want to affect Li Fei's reputation, nor did he want others to say he was bullying others by relying on his status, so he socialized as tactfully as possible.

"Go to the North New Pavilion."

Li Lei paused for a moment and gave an address.

"Yes."

The driver acknowledged and drove quietly.

Ten-plus minutes later, the car drove into a quiet courtyard.

This place was considered a high-end clubhouse in Datong Prefecture city, and many upper-class people would host guests here.

The driver opened the car door for Li Lei. Someone approached from not far away, and the driver immediately looked at the person vigilantly.

He was not only Li Lei's driver but also his bodyguard, a Qi-Transformation stage peak martial artist!

With Li Lei's official rank, it was of course impossible for him to afford a bodyguard of this level.

This person was security personnel specifically assigned to Li Lei by the Marquis of Jing'an's estate.

"Uncle!"

The person shouted.

Li Lei waved his hand at the driver and also greeted him with a smile: "Chenfeng."

The person looked to be only in his early twenties, wearing glasses and with his bangs swept up, looking somewhat honest and simple.

His name was Feng Chenfeng, and he was the son of Li Lei's younger sister.

Li Lei was the eldest in the family and had one younger sister.

His sister, Li Shu, had married far away to another province very early on, and after that, her contact with Li Lei became very sparse.

It was not until Li Fei burst onto the scene, bringing Li Lei along to success, that the contact between Li Shu and Li Lei became frequent, as she begged Li Lei to look after her son more.

An elder brother is like a father, and since Li Lei's parents had passed away early, he still took good care of his only younger sister.

Last year, he used connections to transfer Feng Chenfeng from the other province to Feng Province, where he worked in the General Administration of Internal Affairs in Datong Prefecture.

This time, when Li Lei came to Datong Prefecture for meetings, Feng Chenfeng had said long ago that he wanted to treat him to a meal, but he had been busy and had no time.

Tonight, having finally managed to squeeze out a little time, Li Lei still came to see his nephew.

"Uncle, please come in."

Feng Chenfeng said somewhat reservedly.

Li Lei smiled and patted his shoulder, saying kindly: "We are family, no need to be so polite. Next time you treat me to a meal, don't choose such an expensive place. How much is your monthly salary?"

Feng Chenfeng adjusted his glasses somewhat embarrassedly and led Li Lei into the private room that had been booked in advance.

After the two sat down, Li Lei casually ordered two simple side dishes and asked for a pot of sobering tea.

Then he took the initiative to chat with Feng Chenfeng, caring about his work and life.

His kind attitude made Feng Chenfeng gradually relax, and he was finally not so nervous.

After the two chatted for a few minutes, Feng Chenfeng suddenly rubbed his hands together somewhat embarrassedly:

"Uncle, I... that..."

"What is it?"

Li Lei looked at him kindly, "Is there something the matter?"

Feng Chenfeng lowered his head, somewhat afraid to look at him: "My Lord He from the General Administration of Internal Affairs is also here tonight and said he wanted to see you... I..."

Li Lei understood what was going on as soon as he heard it.

He did not blame Feng Chenfeng, because one could not expect a newcomer who had just entered the officialdom to be able to refuse his direct superior.

"Lord He? Is it the Director of the Personnel Department, Lord He Wenxin?"

"Yes!"

Feng Chenfeng said hurriedly.

The Director of the Personnel Department of the General Administration of Internal Affairs, a true person of real power, a Level 12 imperial official, and of the same rank as Li Lei.

Li Lei's rank assessment this year was to be evaluated by He Wenxin.

Now Feng Chenfeng was working in the Personnel Department, and when he first joined, it was with He Wenxin's approval. In this matter, Li Lei owed He Wenxin a favor.

It was just that the other party using this method to see him tonight made Li Lei realize that the matter was not that simple.

"Since Lord He is here, please invite him in."

Li Lei said indifferently.

"Alright!"

Feng Chenfeng was relieved and hurriedly got up to walk out of the private room.

Soon, he led in a middle-aged man wearing a light red robe with a wealthy appearance.

"Lord Li, I am truly sorry for coming uninvited and disturbing you."

He Wenxin walked into the private room while cupping his hands in a salute to Li Lei.

Li Lei stood up to welcome him, invited him to sit down, and then turned to say to Feng Chenfeng:

"Chenfeng, go buy me a pack of cigarettes."

Although Feng Chenfeng was a newcomer to officialdom, he had been on the job for a year after all, so how could he not understand what this meant? He hurriedly got up and left, closing the door for the two.

"What business does Lord He have with me?"

Li Lei asked directly, his attitude somewhat cold.

He Wenxin stood up and actually bowed to Li Lei:

"Using this method to see you is truly a last resort. I hope you will forgive me."

Li Lei frowned and stood up to help He Wenxin up: "What is Lord He doing?"

He Wenxin straightened up but did not sit down:

"Coming to see you tonight is to pass on a message for someone."

"Oh?"

"Two days ago, the special investigation team sent by the Central Cabinet arrived in Datong Prefecture to investigate the case of Shangguan Xiao's collusion with the enemy and treason back then."

Hearing this, Li Lei's expression shifted, and he did not speak.

He Wenxin looked at him: "Regarding the matter back then, the provincial capital is willing to admit their mistake and is also willing to give the Marquis an explanation! I only hope the Marquis can be forgiving where possible."

Li Lei looked at He Wenxin with a calm expression and said word by word:

"Lord He, this matter is not under my jurisdiction. I think you have found the wrong person."

He Wenxin gave a bitter smile: "Lord Li, please do not misunderstand. I am not here tonight to ask you to plead for others, nor do I have that much face. It is just that the other side hopes you can help pass on a message; they are willing to show absolute sincerity. As long as the Marquis is willing to speak, any terms can be negotiated!"

Li Lei did not speak.

He Wenxin continued: "Lord Li, your official career in Datong Prefecture is naturally smooth sailing, but if I may be so bold, as long as Lord Bian does not step down, the highest you can reach in Datong Prefecture is a Level 14 seated official."

"But with your talent, Lord Li, if you were to change to another prefecture, you would be fully capable of becoming a Prefecture Garrison Commissioner! It is not even impossible for you to govern an entire province in the future!"

Li Lei was startled upon hearing this, somewhat surprised by the other party's grand offer.

The other party was promising that he could be transferred to an outside prefecture to serve as a Garrison Commissioner, and could even fully assist him in becoming a Provincial Inspector in the future!

Li Fei was indeed at the height of his power now, but his foundation was still shallow.

Given Li Lei's roots, it was indeed as the other party said; reaching a Level 14 seated official was about as far as he could go.

After all, his relationship with Li Fei was known to everyone, and Li Fei could not openly help him maneuver.

Governing a prefecture, or even governing a province?

Such things were not even something Li Lei had dared to dream of!

What man would not love power?

Seeing that Li Lei seemed somewhat moved, He Wenxin struck while the iron was hot:

"Lord Li, the other side is truly full of sincerity this time. You only need to help pass on a message. Given your relationship with the Marquis, what does this even amount to?"

"."

The private room was quiet for a moment, and Li Lei finally shook his head slowly but firmly:

"If you want to negotiate terms, you can go directly to him. I will not help pass on any messages!"

"Lord Li—"

"Lord He!"

Li Lei interrupted the other party, his gaze resolute:

"Please return."

He had once been an inspector working on the front lines, and at this moment, he displayed an aura that carried a hint of murderous intent, making He Wenxin feel a chill in his heart and not dare to say anything more.

He could only bow and apologize once more, then exit the private room.

After the other party left, Li Lei sat back down, took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and lit one.

A moment later, Feng Chenfeng walked into the private room cautiously:

"Uncle..."

Li Lei's gaze passed through the smoke and landed on his nephew, his tone somewhat cold:

"Chenfeng, has anyone given you any gifts or offered you any benefits?"

Feng Chenfeng was startled upon hearing this and hurriedly waved his hands:

"No! No! Uncle, you specifically warned me before; I—I would absolutely never dare to mess around!"

Li Lei stared into his eyes.

At this moment, Feng Chenfeng felt that this uncle, who had always been very kind, had suddenly become like a stranger, making his whole body feel cold!

A few seconds later, Li Lei said slowly:

"It is good that you haven't. Remember what your uncle told you: at any time, ask yourself one question—by what right?"

Feng Chenfeng felt a shock in his heart and hurriedly said: "I understand, Uncle, don't worry!"

In truth, having Li Lei as an uncle already made him feel very proud and inflated.

As for that 'cousin' who seemed like an immortal, he didn't even dare to think about him.

It was too dreamlike!

At this moment, Li Lei's words made him break out in a cold sweat.

Indeed, by what right did he have what he had today? And by what right would others be good to him?

He and Li Lei were truly blood relatives, so enjoying some benefits by borrowing Li Lei's prestige was acceptable.

But between him and Li Fei, there was absolutely no connection whatsoever!

The two had never even met.

So if one wanted to use the relationship with the Marquis of Jing'an to do something, one had to ask oneself—by what right?

Feng Province, Lu Mansion.

"His attitude is very firm?"

"Mm, understood."

In the study, Lu Wenzheng hung up the phone with an expressionless face.

He suddenly rubbed his temples, walked to the window, pushed it open, and looked at the night scene outside.

Although Li Fei's potential had been astonishing in the past, in his eyes, he could at most be considered a 'hidden dragon in the abyss,' not yet enough to shake the Lu family, one of the 'Ten Great Clans.'

But now, the dragon had raised its head!

The gaze of that First Marquis of Great Lan was coldly watching the entire Lu family.

Requesting monthly tickets.

(End of chapter)