Chapter 134: 111 Ghost Slash

Chapter 134: Chapter 111 Ghost Slash

“Yu Hu is actually a Tao Foundation Stage powerhouse?!”

In the Chief’s office, Gu Zhenhui’s face showed utter surprise as he was listening to the report from his secretary.

“That’s right. Moreover, the Garrison Commander said Yu Hu has also cultivated the high-level technique Cold Evil Snow Flakes and has already incorporated at least three implants,”

the secretary said.

Gu Zhenhui’s expression darkened; he had not expected Yu Hu to have concealed his strength so deeply.

“Cold Evil Snow Flakes is the high-order force of which Tao Foundation?”

...

Gu Zhenhui suddenly asked.

The secretary replied, “I asked the Garrison Commander, and he said it’s ‘Cold River Snow.'”

“‘Cold River Snow’? Does the Zhi Ge Court in Xing City have the cultivation method for this Tao Foundation?”

Gu Zhenhui continued to inquire.

The foundation of Martial Arts isn’t simply a matter of correctly absorbing five different types of implants; it also involves extremely complicated cultivation methods. Each stage has different nurturing methods for different implants, and it encompasses a whole series of issues including mutual interference between different implants and their synergies.

Therefore, each Tao Foundation’s cultivation method is incredibly precious, the most secretive of secrets!

Gu Zhenhui wanted to know how Yu Hu obtained this secret cultivation method.

“This…”

The secretary was at a loss for an answer.

“Check it immediately!”

Gu Zhenhui’s eyes were fierce.

“Yes, I will make a phone call right away.”

The secretary turned and left.

Soon, the secretary returned to the office:

“Sir, in the secret archives of the Inspection Bureau, there are only seven types of Tao Foundation cultivation methods in the Zhi Ge Court of Xing City, and ‘Cold River Snow’ is not among them.”

Snap!

Gu Zhenhui slapped his desk fiercely and stood up:

“It’s not strange that Yu Hu could get the resources needed for cultivation, but the cultivation methods of the Tao Foundation are top secrets. Since the Zhi Ge Court in Xing City doesn’t have the method for ‘Cold River Snow’, where exactly did Yu Hu get it from?”

He turned to look at the secretary:

“Order the Inspection Bureau to investigate immediately; gather all intelligence related to ‘Cold River Snow’. I want to know who gave Yu Hu the cultivation method!”

“Yes!”

The secretary nodded in affirmation. “Does the sir suspect that Yu Hu is also colluding with other forces?”

Gu Zhenhui sat down again and looked at the secretary:

“He went from being a low-level thug to his position today in just over a decade. If it were only the title of Refining Strength Martial Master, it might be acceptable, but now he is actually at the Tao Foundation Stage. How many in this world reach the Tao Foundation Stage without any background? I don’t believe there isn’t someone behind him!”

In fact, over the years, Gu Zhenhui had always had the Inspection Bureau secretly investigate this matter because he suspected that Yu Hu had a backer, but the Bureau hadn’t found any clues after all this time.

Now that Yu Hu had been forced to reveal his hand and shown the clue of ‘Cold River Snow’, Gu Zhenhui naturally wouldn’t let it go.

“Moreover, this time, the incident was quickly handled by the Captain of the First Brigade of the Inspection Bureau, Li Lei. He promptly stopped the large-scale brawl, protecting the safety of the citizens in Wuguang District and saving hundreds of lives, as well as confiscating over a hundred illegal firearms, making a great contribution!”

Gu Zhenhui said to the secretary:

“Draft a document in the name of the Governance Hall to commend him, and then notify the heads of the Internal Affairs Office and the Inspection Bureau that I want to promote Li Lei!”

The secretary was taken aback and blurted out, “Sir, but Li Lei was just recently promoted out of turn. He is now a ninth-grade official. If he gets promoted again, he will become an Imperial Official.”

First Grade Clerks have five levels, and Second Rank Subordinate Officials have four, so a ninth-grade official is at the pinnacle of Second Rank Subordinate Officials. One more promotion would elevate him past the second Dragon Gate of officialdom, making him an Imperial Official!

A city’s government can directly appoint Second Rank Subordinate Officials, but Third Grade assigned officials must report up the hierarchy.

First, they report to the ‘prefecture’ level, where the prefectural government assesses and approves the stamp, and then it’s sent to the ‘province’ level for final approval and confirmation.

After the provincial government’s confirmation, the roster is sent to the Imperial City, where the Cabinet Central processes the names and finally issues an official placard with the official’s name and a gold seal that represents their authority.

Only then does the birth of an Imperial Official truly take place.

It had been less than two months since Li Lei was exceptionally promoted from a sixth-grade officer to the ninth grade. With such a record, unless he had achieved something tremendous, even if the proposal was forcibly approved by Gu Zhenhui in Xing City, the government in Datong Prefecture would not approve it for Li Lei.

“I know, just go and do it.”

Gu Zhenhui said indifferently.

He knew that it was impossible to forcibly promote Li Lei right now, but he still wanted to make the attempt.

The recent battle in Wuguang District showed that although Li Lei presented a neutral stance, he offered Gu Zhenhui an excellent opportunity to counterbalance Wu Yihua.

With the Tiger Saber Gang firmly controlling the Inspection Bureau, it was very hard for the Chief’s side to get a foothold there.

In that case, it made sense to support a neutral Li Lei to counter Wu Yihua, diverting some of the Tiger Saber Gang’s authority in the Inspection Bureau.

Even if Li Lei could potentially target the Chief’s faction in the future, it was still better than letting the Tiger Saber Gang have unchecked power in the Inspection Bureau.

“There’s more.”

Gu Zhenhui continued to issue orders. The Chief’s play was far from over:

“Now that the Tiger Saber Gang’s influence has severely dropped, it’s our time to counterattack, starting with the Martial Arts Hall.”

“The Martial Arts Hall?”

The secretary was startled.

He had thought Gu Zhenhui would start from the Court of Judicial Review and the Righteous Court—two places that had been contending with the Tiger Saber Gang—to pull over some of their officials.

He didn’t expect Gu Zhenhui to start with the Martial Arts Hall.

“Prepare for action from the Inspection Bureau side and clear out all the people the Tiger Saber Gang has planted in the Martial Arts Hall for me!”

Gu Zhenhui said, eyes filled with murderous intent.

The Martial Arts Hall, a semi-government entity, was jointly managed by the Inspection Bureau and the Zhi Ge Court, and therefore its personnel were also under the supervision of the Inspection Bureau. If violations were found, the Inspection Bureau had the authority to take people away.

Over the years, the Martial Arts Hall had almost turned into the Tiger Saber Gang’s backyard, with too many management personnel committing infractions. The Inspection Bureau had long had evidence, but they had not acted, hindered by the gang’s clout and lacking a decisive strike opportunity.

Now that the Tiger Saber Gang’s influence was greatly diminished and vulnerabilities were exposed, Gu Zhenhui decided it was time to make a move on the Martial Arts Hall!

The secretary, having followed Gu Zhenhui for many years, saw something else in these two moves.

“It seems the master is trying to win over Hao Yi,” the secretary thought to himself.

Hao Yi’s displayed strength was astonishing, and he believed Gu Zhenhui definitely wanted to win over this Tao Foundation Stage powerhouse as much as possible.

A direct overture to Hao Yi might not be effective and could put them at a disadvantage, so Gu Zhenhui chose to approach from a different angle.

Both promoting Li Lei and purging the Martial Arts Hall were related to the young man named Li Fei.

From this conflict, it was clear that Hao Yi cared deeply about his student and was very protective.

Hence, both of Gu Zhenhui’s moves would be advantageous for Li Fei.

The secretary’s guess wasn’t wrong; Gu Zhenhui indeed had this intention.

As long as he could win over Li Fei, he believed that Hao Yi, the strong one at the Tao Foundation Stage, would at least not stand against him in the future.

“Go ahead with your work.”

That was Gu Zhenhui’s final remark.

“Yes.”

The secretary left the office.

Before long, the orders coming out from the Chief’s office once again stirred up ripples in Xing City.

…

Early the next day, Li Fei came to the Martial Arts Hall as usual.

He walked familiarly into Hao Yi’s office and then froze in place.

Because besides Hao Yi, there was a woman sitting in the office, dressed in green and with a long braid.

It was Shangguan Xiao!

“Teacher.”

Li Fei first greeted Hao Yi with a bow, then turned to Shangguan Xiao, “I assume this is my teacher’s aunt?”

Shangguan Xiao looked at Li Fei with an amused expression and said with a smile,

“Brother, this is the student you’ve taken in? He does indeed look very honest and sincere, a good kid.”

Hao Yi’s face also showed more of a smile as he spoke,

“Xiao Fei, she is the junior sister I mentioned to you yesterday, your teacher’s aunt, Shangguan Xiao.”

Li Fei immediately bowed to Shangguan Xiao,

“Student Li Fei, greetings to teacher’s aunt.”

“No need for such formalities.”

Shangguan Xiao stood up, picked up a rectangular wooden box from the side, and walked up to Li Fei,

“This is the first time my brother has formally introduced his student to me, I can’t come empty-handed. Here, this is a gift from your teacher’s aunt upon meeting you.”

Saying that, she handed the wooden box to Li Fei.

Now that her relationship with Hao Yi had basically been exposed by the Tiger Saber Gang, there was no need for her to deliberately hide it anymore. That’s why she made a special trip to the Martial Arts Hall to see for herself.

One reason was to ‘formally’ meet Li Fei.

The second was to give Li Fei a gift.

Li Fei was stunned and subconsciously glanced at Hao Yi.

There was laughter in Hao Yi’s eyes, “Accept what your teacher’s aunt gives you.”

“Yes, thank you, teacher’s aunt.”

Li Fei took the rectangular wooden box from Shangguan Xiao’s hands, not expecting that it would be quite heavy, probably at least seventy or eighty pounds.

“Open it and take a look.”

Shangguan Xiao said with a smile.

Li Fei undid the clasps of the wooden box, opened it, and revealed the contents—

Inside was a large saber with a total length of one meter and fifty-three centimeters!

The handle was black, forty-seven centimeters long, and the blade was as wide as a palm. The color of the blade was snow-white, emitting a cold light.

Where the handle met the blade was a ghost face with sharp fangs, looking as if an evil ghost had ‘spat out’ the long blade.

Li Fei took a liking to the style of this large saber at first glance; it felt familiar to him.

Shangguan Xiao saw the look of surprise in Li Fei’s eyes and said with a smile,

“This saber is primarily made from the bones of a Fifth Grade superior Exotic Beast, the Ghost Swallowing Beast, complemented with body tissue from other exotic beasts. It weighs seventy-nine pounds. I heard from my brother that your Tao Foundation will be ‘Mixed Element Heavenly Gold’, and this abnormal weapon is most suited for martial forces of the gold and fire attributes, making it very suitable for you, so I’m giving it to you.”

Although the Da Lan Dynasty’s technological level in firearms, airplanes, and cannons was far behind Western countries, it was far ahead of the rest of the world in the research and utilization of Exotic Beasts.

Setting aside martial arts, the Da Lan Dynasty could refine the body tissues of exotic beasts into various weapons, armors, and even magical artifacts, magic treasures!

Weapons produced from the refined body tissue of exotic beasts were named abnormal weapons.

Abnormal weapons made from the body tissue of Fifth Grade exotic beasts were Fifth Level abnormal weapons, which were many times more precious than Third Level Protective Clothing!

Third Grade exotic beasts could compete with martial masters at the Early Innate Qi Stage, Fourth Grade exotic beasts could match Refining Strength Martial Masters, and Fifth Grade exotic beasts were on par with strong ones at the Tao Foundation Stage!

“Teacher’s aunt, this is too precious…”

After listening to Shangguan Xiao’s introduction, Li Fei immediately felt the wooden box in his hand was unbearably heavy.

“Hey, take what your teacher’s aunt gives you without being polite!”

Shangguan Xiao said generously.

“Yes, student thanks teacher’s aunt for the saber gift!”

Li Fei once again bowed to Shangguan Xiao.

Had it not been for Hao Yi being present, he would definitely have had to call her ‘teacher’s wife’.

“You child, you’re too polite.”

Shangguan Xiao laughed, helped Li Fei up and pointed to the saber in the box,

“This saber came to me by chance, and I didn’t know its name. Now that the saber is given to you, you should name it.”

Li Fei looked down at the ghost face on the handle with two long sharp fangs, a gleam in his eyes,

“Then this saber shall be called—Ghost Slash!”

“Ghost Slash?”

Shangguan Xiao was surprised, instantly recalling Li Fei’s ‘Green-faced Ghost’ identity. Thinking more about it, she found the name increasingly suitable and looked at Li Fei meaningfully,

“Good name!”

At the mention of ‘Ghost Slash’, Hao Yi, too, thought of ‘Green-faced Ghost’. However, instead of suspecting any connection between Li Fei and ‘Green-faced Ghost,’ he was reminded of the debate he had with Li Fei because of ‘Green-faced Ghost’.

“This child still admires that Green-faced Ghost.”

Hao Yi sighed to himself.

While Shangguan Xiao was in Hao Yi’s office presenting the saber, many cars had already stopped outside the Martial Arts Hall.

These cars belonged to both the Inspection Bureau and the City Guard Army.

Subsequently, personnel from the Inspection Bureau and the City Guard Army entered the Martial Arts Hall with an imposing momentum.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Soon after, gunshots were heard inside the Martial Arts Hall.

…