Chapter 824: Awakening of Insects

Inside the small courtyard, a middle-aged man wearing a black robe, with a buzz cut and a beard, was using a supernatural ability to treat He Jian.

A brilliant blue radiance, like the light of stars, surged from the man's palm and shone onto the center of He Jian's brow.

The old man's tightly furrowed brows gradually smoothed out, his breathing quickly became steady, and he entered a deep sleep.

"Done."

After maintaining it for only a few seconds, the man withdrew his supernatural ability.

He turned to look at Li Fei: "The person who struck him only left a tiny bit of supernatural power behind. Even if I hadn't intervened, it would have dissipated naturally in a few days at most. I have now dispelled the supernatural power from his body; his mind is fine, and he will recover after a few days of rest. There will be no lasting side effects."

Li Fei cupped his hands in a salute: "Many thanks, Vice Principal Fang."

The person who had come was Fang Ziyan, the Vice Principal of Changping University.

When he had sent out word that he needed a martial arts master capable of treating mental injuries, Qiu Zi'an had contacted him immediately and told him that Fang Ziyan possessed this ability.

Consequently, Li Fei had immediately piloted his black skiff to Changping University to pick up Fang Ziyan.

In fact, Shi Caiming had also told him that the supernatural power within He Jian's body would dissipate on its own in a few days.

But to prevent He Jian from suffering any lasting side effects, Li Fei had still chosen to invite a martial arts master to intervene.

"Haha, it was no trouble at all, don't be so polite."

Fang Ziyan waved his hand with a smile.

He had encountered problems when refining his third supernatural ability, which led to damage to his implant; Qiu Zi'an had passed the "Five-Phase Inverse Wheel Method" to him, giving him new hope.

Therefore, he felt he owed Li Fei a massive favor!

This time, upon hearing that Li Fei needed help, he had followed him here without a second word.

"I heard from Principal Qiu that you are looking for the cultivation method for the 【Dragon-Elephant】 supernatural ability?"

As Li Fei was seeing Fang Ziyan out, Fang Ziyan suddenly asked.

"Yes."

Li Fei nodded.

At this point, he had already entrusted the matter to Shi Caiming, informed Qiu Zi'an, and even used his own clearance at the Inspection Pavilion.

Fang Ziyan said: "The Dragon-Tiger Gate in Shisong Province holds the legacy of the 【Dragon-Elephant】 supernatural ability. I am good friends with Wang Yilong, the master of the Dragon-Tiger Gate. Like me, he ran into trouble while refining a supernatural ability, and his cultivation realm has been restricted for over twenty years.

I had originally planned to make a trip to the Dragon-Tiger Gate to talk with Wang Yilong and pass your 'Five-Phase Inverse Wheel Method' to him. Since you happen to need the 【Dragon-Elephant】 supernatural ability, how about I count this as a condition for the negotiation?"

Li Fei was delighted upon hearing this: "No problem, then I will leave it to you, Vice Principal Fang."

Qiu Zi'an had sought his opinion; if the "Five-Phase Inverse Wheel Method" were to be passed to others, the first requirement was, of course, that their character must be sound.

Furthermore, except for those who could be absolutely trusted, it was best to have others sign a vow-based spell as a constraint.

The content of the vow-based spell, in addition to not leaking the "Five-Phase Inverse Wheel Method," also required the other party to promise that in the future, they would help Li Fei with all their might at least a few times, provided it did not endanger their own life.

Now that Fang Ziyan was simply swapping the vow to help him for the exchange of the 【Dragon-Elephant】 supernatural ability, Li Fei felt there was no problem.

"Rest assured, Wang Yilong bears the future of the Dragon-Tiger Gate on his shoulders and carries a heavy responsibility. Being able to help him break through his shackles is of great significance to him and to the Dragon-Tiger Gate! Given his character, besides providing the cultivation method for the 【Dragon-Elephant】 supernatural ability, he would even be willing to give you the corresponding implant."

Fang Ziyan laughed.

"That is not necessary. If Sect Master Wang is willing, I can use other resources to exchange for the implant required for the 【Dragon-Elephant】 supernatural ability."

Li Fei said.

He had brought out the "Five-Phase Inverse Wheel Method" with the intention of winning people over, so he did not want to turn it into a one-time transaction.

During the time he was appointed to office, the Emperor had also rewarded Li Fei with a large amount of cultivation resources, enough for him to cultivate all the way to the next realm on either the martial arts or the spellcasting side.

So, he could absolutely bring those out to exchange for the resources he needed.

"Good."

Fang Ziyan understood Li Fei's meaning.

He was also a man of decisive action; seeing that there was nothing left to do, he immediately set off for Shisong Province.

After sending Fang Ziyan off, Li Fei soon received several intelligence reports, all regarding the martial arts master who had attacked He Jian.

Although the Inspection Department in the provincial capital of Feng Province was still under the control of Lu Wenzheng for the time being, Li Fei's authority was sufficient to make the Inspection Departments of other provinces cooperate with him.

Besides that, he was also the leader of the inspection team for the Blue Patrol Pavilion, with the power to mobilize the forces of the Blue Patrol Pavilion in every province!

Through his connections with the Slaughtering Barbarian Army, Li Fei had established some rapport with the Blue Patrol Pavilions of various provinces.

And since the Blue Patrol Pavilions of each province were composed of local underworld powerhouses, Li Fei's word meant that, in addition to the government, local underworld forces were also helping him gather information.

This was the power of authority!

Jiang Ye thought that even if he had offended Li Fei, he could just hide far away; it was impossible for Li Fei to hunt him down across the entire world.

In the end, he had underestimated the power of the "First Marquis of Great Lan."

The "underworld kill orders" issued by those underworld bosses could at most cover the territory of one province.

But if the current Li Fei were to issue a kill order against someone—

In all twenty-three provinces, both the underworld and the righteous paths would give him face!

Li Fei returned to his room and began reading the intelligence he had received.

He Jian's problem had been solved, but he would not let him go to the provincial capital to investigate cases again for the time being.

He had to deal with the person who had acted in the shadows first!

"Jiang Ye?"

The several intelligence reports he obtained all mentioned this demonic martial artist.

His supernatural ability's characteristics, as well as his recent movements, all indicated that he was the person most likely to be the culprit.

"Demon-Feeding Beast, the Lu family..."

Through the intelligence in his hands, Li Fei could roughly deduce a clue:

"The Lu family used a Demon-Feeding Beast to lure Jiang Ye, and the content of the transaction was for Jiang Ye to attack He Jian."

After confirming his target, Li Fei immediately got up and made a few phone calls to locate Jiang Ye.

After finishing the calls, he sat back down and began to study something else—

The Demon-Feeding Beast.

Demonic martial artists directly plundered the implants of others; while it seemed quick, the risks were high.

Because the implant was not cultivated within one's own body, there would be a clear "rejection reaction" with one's own body.

But for Li Fei, this was not a problem.

No matter how intense the "rejection reaction" was, he could force his way through it with the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl.

If that didn't work, he could just take medicine to solve it.

However, because plundering others' implants required harming the lives of innocent people, it went against Li Fei's original intentions, and he had never considered demonic cultivation before.

But now that he had suddenly learned of the existence of "Demon-Feeding Beasts," Li Fei was immediately tempted.

The strengthening of a natal magic treasure required other materials besides implants, so the Demon-Feeding Beast was only applicable to martial arts.

"If I use a Demon-Feeding Beast, wouldn't my speed in martial arts cultivation be even faster?"

Li Fei thought to himself.

He could obtain the cultivation method and the implant for the 【Dragon-Elephant】 supernatural ability from the Dragon-Tiger Gate, and since the Lu family could trade in Demon-Feeding Beasts, it meant they possessed the relevant technology.

Li Fei could ask Lu Wenyao for these techniques.

With the implant, the technology, and his own exotic beast farm, he already possessed the conditions to breed Demon-Feeding Beasts.

"While strengthening the Flying Sword Body and incorporating spell-type implants, I can simultaneously use the Demon-Feeding Beast to cultivate martial arts-type implants. Once the spell-type supernatural abilities are fully refined, I can immediately incorporate the martial arts-type implants."

Li Fei thought to himself.

It was just that he didn't know how long the breeding time for a Demon-Feeding Beast would take; if it took too long, it wouldn't be as fast as his own cultivation speed.

Moreover, he did not know enough about demonic martial arts to make a rash decision.

Thinking of this, Li Fei decided to go find Shi Caiming.

"Principal, there are some things I would like to ask you about."

After finding Shi Caiming, Li Fei told him his thoughts.

After hearing his ideas, Shi Caiming's expression turned serious:

"Demonic cultivation—do you think it's as simple as just having a severe rejection reaction?"

Looking at the other's expression, Li Fei was startled.

This was the first time he had seen Shi Caiming speak to him so seriously.

"Martial arts cultivation begins by borrowing external objects, but as the realm increases, the martial artist gradually enters a deep fusion with the implant, making it truly a part of themselves. Only in this way can the martial artist truly control the innate primordial Qi, strength, extraordinary abilities, and even supernatural abilities born from the implant."

Shi Caiming looked at Li Fei, his expression stern:

"Without the process of starting from zero and gradually fusing deeply with the implant, a martial artist's realm is a castle in the air! Demonic martial artists directly plunder the implants of others; it seems like a step to the heavens, but in reality, they have chosen a narrow, treacherous path!

You think that by cultivating the demonic path you can also reach the peak, but those two demonic martial artists among the 'Three Evils' cannot defeat any one of the 'Seven Martial Saints.'

At the same level, a demonic martial artist's control over innate primordial Qi, strength, extraordinary abilities, and even supernatural abilities and the Martial Domain is far inferior to that of a normally cultivating martial artist!"

"Precisely because of this, the difficulty and risk of them breaking through to each new realm are extremely high!"

Li Fei nodded earnestly, understanding the drawbacks of demonic cultivation.

"Xiao Fei, you are being a bit too eager for quick success."

Shi Caiming looked at Li Fei, "I know you are anxious for revenge, but some things cannot be rushed."

"..."

Li Fei fell silent.

The sudden urge to try the Demon-Feeding Beast was not only because he didn't understand the demonic path, but also because he was indeed impatient.

Toppling Lu Wenzheng was already a certainty, but the vengeance for Hao Yi and Shangguan Xiao was not just about Lu Wenzheng.

The person Li Fei cared about most, and the one he wanted to kill the most, was Xu Jing!

But Xu Jing is a Grandmaster.

It is impossible to execute a Grandmaster using normal means.

Even if Xu Jing were to lose his official position and his status as university president, as long as his combat power as a Grandmaster remains and he does not openly rebel, he will always have a chance to make a comeback.

The only way Li Fei can think of to take revenge is to challenge him head-on!

But with his current combat power, he cannot yet achieve this.

That is why he is so anxious to become stronger.

"Xiao Fei."

Shi Caiming looks at Li Fei and says earnestly:

"In this world, there are some shortcuts that cannot be taken."

Li Fei is silent for a moment, then nods heavily:

"I understand, thank you, President."

Feng Province, provincial capital, Hongyi University.

Inside a secret chamber built underground, Xu Jing is in seclusion, cultivating.

After using the 【Black Water】 divine ability to devour Jiang Ye's 【Evil God】, he immediately returned to the secret chamber at Hongyi University and began his seclusion.

Over the course of more than ten days, he completely finished devouring the divine ability.

This underground chamber is very large and even contains an underground lake.

Xu Jing sits cross-legged on a stone platform in the center of the lake and unfolds his Martial Dao Domain.

A vast expanse of thick fog appears out of thin air, permeating the surface of the lake.

The water begins to boil, many bubbles appear, and then they constantly burst.

The fog surges, and black silt churns beneath the water, as if a giant black python is lurking within it.

Tiny specks of ghostly green light appear in the thick fog, like clusters of will-o'-the-wisps.

As these will-o'-the-wisps appear, the thick fog begins to spread in all directions.

The range of the thick fog spreads to about seven hundred meters in radius before gradually slowing down, as if it has reached its limit.

On the stone platform, Xu Jing frowns, feeling somewhat unwilling, and wants to continue expanding his Martial Dao Domain.

But as he exerts force, the thick fog suddenly shakes violently.

"Pfft—"

Suddenly, Xu Jing spits out a mouthful of blood and immediately retracts his Martial Dao Domain.

A look of anger appears in his eyes, and he strikes the stone platform heavily with his palm.

Boom, boom, boom—

A series of water columns explode upward!

His initial breakthrough was not perfect, which caused his Martial Dao Domain to have severe aftereffects, making it impossible to maintain for long.

Naturally, he is unwilling to become the weakest Grandmaster in history, so he continues to cooperate with Lu Wenzheng, wanting to devour new divine abilities in an attempt to solve the problems with his Martial Dao Domain.

Now that he has successfully devoured the 【Evil God】, which is compatible with his Martial Dao Domain, the effect is not ideal.

The strength of the Martial Dao Domain has indeed increased, but Xu Jing's control over the 【Evil God】 is far from reaching the expected level.

Instead, because there is an extra divine ability and his control is not up to par, the Martial Dao Domain has become even more unstable, and the time it can be maintained is even shorter than before!

Xu Jing does not think this is his own problem, but attributes it all to inner demons.

"Li Fei!!!!"

Inside the underground chamber, Xu Jing roars in extreme anger.

More than an hour later, Xu Jing appears in the president's office with his usual expression.

He picks up the receiver and dials a number:

"This is Xu Jing."

"Seclusion over? How do you feel?"

Lu Wenzheng's voice comes from the other end of the line.

"I feel very good."

Xu Jing says this.

"Congratulations!"

"The matter you mentioned before can be discussed again."

". lright, go to my residence, I will wait for you."

On the other end of the line, Lu Wenzheng's tone fluctuates slightly.

After hanging up the phone, Xu Jing's gaze is deep.

Li Fei has endured him for several years, and has he not also endured Li Fei for several years?

If he can solve the problems with his Martial Dao Domain by devouring other people's divine abilities through 【Black Water】.

Then he does not mind continuing to lie dormant in the shadows, slowly making himself stronger.

But now, the path ahead has been blocked!

Xu Jing walks to the window and looks in the direction of Datong Prefecture.

He looks for a long, long time.

The forty-ninth year of Hongguang, March 5th.

Awakening of Insects.

Feng Province, Qingli Prefecture.

The Lu Chamber of Commerce is holding a general meeting of shareholders today.

Qingli Prefecture is where the Lu family's ancestral home is located, and it is also the foundation of the Lu family.

The Lu Chamber of Commerce has a history of several hundred years in Qingli Prefecture, and it holds a leading position in almost every industry in Qingli Prefecture!

Not only that, the Lu Chamber of Commerce's weaving, spices, and tea businesses are spread across the entire country!

In the twenty-three provinces of the Great Lan Dynasty, the Lu Chamber of Commerce has its own companies, factories, and shops.

Without a doubt, this is a behemoth in the business world and the money bag of the Lu family.

As the head of the Lu family, Lu Wenzheng also holds the position of president of the Lu Chamber of Commerce.

But Lu Wenzheng did not attend today's ad hoc general meeting of shareholders.

In the spacious conference room, dozens of chamber of commerce shareholders or shareholder representatives are gathered together.

An elderly man wearing glasses with a dignified air looks around, stands up, and says word by word:

"Everyone has arrived, let me state today's agenda—"

"After discussion by multiple shareholders, we have decided to remove Lu Wenzheng from his position as president of the Chamber of Commerce!"

(End of chapter)