Chapter 629: 123 Opening

Chapter 629: Chapter 123 Opening

Under the night sky, Huang Jin walked out of the Inspection Department’s main gate with Shen Tuyue, who had put her veil back on.

Outside the gate, a group of reporters had been waiting. Camera flashes flickered, emitting dazzling light.

The news of Shen Tuyue being taken away for investigation by Marquis Jing’an, Li Fei, had already spread throughout the city over the past two days.

Afterward, under Su Yifei’s manipulation, various kinds of public opinions swirled around:

“Did Marquis Jing’an, fearing defeat in a martial arts challenge, purposely frame Shen Tuyue?”

“Power corrupts the initial resolve, once a Martial Artist, no longer after becoming a Marquis!”

“He wants power, he wants fame, is Zhu Fenghua the next one Marquis Jing’an will seize?”

“Rising to the top of the Fengyun Leaderboard through power?”

“…”

Although many comments were patently absurd, the ordinary people really loved such news.

The Da Lan Dynasty did not have the precedent of punishing people for what they said, so some tabloids were bold enough to publish anything attention-grabbing—as long as it didn’t involve the Royal Family!

For a time, Li Fei’s reputation in Gansheng Province had taken a turn for the worse.

Tonight marked the 48-hour detention limit for Shen Tuyue, and many newspaper reporters had arrived early, waiting outside the Inspection Department, eager to see if Shen Tuyue would be released.

When they saw Huang Jin leading Shen Tuyue out, the reporters quickly surrounded them:

“Miss Shentu, have you been released without any charges?”

“Miss Shentu, do you plan to continue with the martial arts challenge against Marquis Jing’an?”

“Miss Shentu, do you think Marquis Jing’an is afraid to compete with you in martial arts?”

“…”

An invisible yet gentle wall of Qi kept all the reporters a few steps away, preventing them from getting close.

Huang Jin frowned slightly at the glaring cameras not far away.

Knowing that Shen Tuyue never liked dealing with reporters, he was about to disperse them when Shen Tuyue suddenly spoke up:

“Marquis Jing’an has agreed to a martial arts duel with me, tomorrow afternoon at 2 o’clock, outside the Red Sleeve Pavilion. I’ll be waiting for him.”

This statement immediately excited all the reporters present.

Shen Tuyue was going to have a public martial arts duel with Marquis Jing’an, Li Fei, tomorrow!

This was big news!

Just as the reporters wanted to continue asking more questions, a soft force pushed them away, and Shen Tuyue took the lead, walking down the steps and out of the crowd.

“Junior sister…”

Huang Jin caught up with Shen Tuyue, about to say something, when someone suddenly ran over.

It was Su Yifei.

“Miss Shentu, are you alright?!”

Su Yifei looked at Shen Tuyue with a face full of concern.

He had also come early to wait outside the Inspection Department to see if Li Fei would release her on time.

Shen Tuyue nodded politely to Su Yifei, “Thank you for your concern, Mister Su, I’m fine.”

“I’m glad you’re fine. I was worried when I heard this afternoon that you had been convicted. Fortunately, Li Fei finally released you—it seems these reporters are useful after all.”

Su Yifei said, smiling.

Shen Tuyue was taken aback, “Are these reporters brought here by Mister Su?”

Su Yifei smiled, “I just happen to know some newspaper owners, so I tried to help you seek justice.”

Shen Tuyue looked at him, her expression softening a bit, “Thank you for going to such trouble, Mister Su.”

“Ha ha, it’s nothing, just a trifle,” Su Yifei laughed heartily, not noticing the icy look in Huang Jin’s eyes.

Then, using the excuse that his junior sister needed rest, Huang Jin interrupted the further remarks Su Yifei wanted to make.

The two got into a car and left the area.

…

The next morning, every newspaper in Gansheng Province had the martial arts duel between Marquis Jing’an, Li Fei, and Shen Tuyue as their front-page headline!

The twists and turns of this duel, coupled with various opinion pieces, had really whetted everyone’s appetite.

Now that the two were finally about to fight, many people rushed to the Red Sleeve Pavilion early in the morning to secure a spot.

Teahouses, taverns, and hotels around the Red Sleeve Pavilion were all filled to the brim!

To prevent a stampede and also to clear an area for the duel, the Inspection Department even specially dispatched inspectors to maintain order at the scene.

Inside the Inspection Department, Li Fei was practicing.

He wasn’t particularly concerned about this afternoon’s duel.

It wasn’t that he underestimated Shen Tuyue, but his strength had grown considerably as of late.

Two days ago, he broke through to the Qi Change Stage with his “Green Bone” Implant.

As the fourth Implant of “Mixed Element Heavenly Gold,” the changes “Green Bone” brought about were greater than the first three Implants combined!

Li Fei’s physique had greatly strengthened, most notably reflected in his Life Force—his Blood Soul count had increased by more than 80.

His total count of Blood Souls was now 973!

The majority of Martial Arts Foundations only undergo an all-around strengthening when they incorporate the fifth Implant. Tao Foundation Stage Martial Artists, with five Implants, if their Life Force was converted into Blood Souls, would generally have between 160 to 200 Blood Souls.

After Li Fei raised “Green Bone” to the Qi Change Stage, even without the additional Blood Souls from the Myriad Blood Pearl upgrade, his count of Blood Souls had already surpassed 200.

Once he incorporates the fifth Implant and completely fills up his “Mixed Element Heavenly Gold,” his body will undergo another enhancement.

Life Force far surpassing that of his peers was one of the distinctive features of the top-tier Tao Foundation, “Mixed Element Heavenly Gold.”

And the increase in Blood Souls was just one aspect of Li Fei’s improvement.

His enhancement was comprehensive!

Thus, Li Fei wasn’t overly concerned about this afternoon’s duel. He was focusing on integrating the newly cultivated Innate Qi into his Force, getting accustomed to his enhanced Mixed Element Vajra Force.

The Innate Qi cultivated from “Green Bone” was Jia Wood True Qi.

The first Implant, “steel armor,” cultivated Geng Metal True Qi, which displayed the utmost sharpness.

And the Jia Wood True Qi from “Green Bone” represented the ultimate in vitality!

These two True Qi, one internal and one external, were of extreme purity and free of impurities, which perfectly allowed the “Overlord Body” and “Jade Bone” Extraordinary Abilities to merge seamlessly.

Suddenly, a knock came from outside the door.

Li Fei slowly stopped circulating his Qi, “Come in.”

Lv Wenxing pushed the door open and entered, “Marquis, there’s been an emergency. Su Yifei is dead.”

“Who?”

Li Fei hadn’t heard of this name before.

….

Inside the residence where Zhu San lived.

A scholar-garbed man was savoring tea, while Zhu San was engrossed in the intelligence report he held.

His brows grew increasingly furrowed, his expression turning uglier by the second.

“How is it?”

The scholar-garbed man leisurely took a sip of tea and asked.

Zhu San put down the report he was reading. “We can now be sure that Huang Jin killed Su Yifei, and he used our methods.”

“He’s framing us? What’s he after?”

“I just can’t figure it out, the fucking nutcase!”

Zhu San couldn’t help but curse.

Who wouldn’t be furious when everything was going smoothly until a madman suddenly showed up to wreak havoc?

After the outburst, Zhu San forced himself to calm down.

“He went to the Inspection Department last night, and then Li Fei released Shen Tuyue. Right after that, he went and killed Su Yifei, attempting to pin it on us… All these signs, I think he’s chosen to work with Li Fei. He wants to take us down, to shake off our control.”

Zhu San shared his assessment.

“What makes him so confident?”

The scholar-garbed man asked curiously.

Having dealt with the New Heaven Association for so many years, Huang Jin should understand the organization’s strength more than outsiders.

To suddenly choose to ally with the court and try to take down the New Heaven Association while his own vulnerabilities were in the Association’s hands seemed far too idealistic.

Even if the New Heaven Association really did collapse, would Huang Jin ultimately be able to walk away scot-free? Would the court let him go? Would the Red Dust Pavilion let him go?

Zhu San also shook his head, “I also can’t understand what makes him so confident.”

“It looks like this chess piece is completely out of control.”

The scholar-garbed man set down his teacup and said indifferently,

“Dump it.”

….

At 1:30 p.m., the street where the Red Sleeve Building was located was already packed with people.

Over a hundred armed inspectors were maintaining order at the scene, sectioning off a large area outside the Red Sleeve Tavern to serve as the venue for the upcoming duel.

To prevent the spectating crowd from being unintentionally harmed, the Zhi Ge Department had also dispatched a host of experts to stand in the frontline, ready to counteract the collateral force from the clash between the two powerhouses.

In fact, for an occasion like this, having a Martial Arts Master present would have been the safest.

But Chi Chengyu hadn’t shown up today.

He was in over his head!

First, members of the Entry World Conference were being investigated, and as the Vice President, he couldn’t just stand by.

Then, early this morning, he learned that Su Yifei was dead—murdered.

Since a Martial Artist committed the murder, the case fell under the Zhi Ge Department’s jurisdiction.

Chi Chengyu immediately established a special task force, taking personal charge as the head.

Under these circumstances, he simply didn’t have the time to go watch Shen Tuyue’s duel.

Win or lose, the outcome of this duel was now irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

Inside the Red Sleeve Tavern, Huang Jin was keeping Shen Tuyue company.

After the tavern’s landlady, Shao Sirou, was taken away, the tavern had closed its doors, only reopening today to serve Shen Tuyue and Huang Jin alone.

Huang Jin stood behind Shen Tuyue, his gaze filled with an intense fervor as he looked at his junior sister’s back.

Last night, he had realized something:

The New Heaven Association could ignore Shen Tuyue’s plight this time, and they would do so again in the future.

So long as he remained under the New Heaven Association’s control, he would never be able to protect his junior sister in front of the Association.

What if one day the New Heaven Association decided to deal with Shen Tuyue? What would he do then?

Therefore, Huang Jin sought out Li Fei and proposed a collaboration.

Even if it was incredibly difficult, he had to strive with all his might!

“Senior brother?”

Shen Tuyue was acutely perceptive; she sensed something in Huang Jin’s gaze and turned to look.

Huang Jin had already returned to his usual demeanor, and smiled at Shen Tuyue,

“Junior sister, I will make sure that what happened before never happens again.”

Shen Tuyue smiled faintly, not taking it too seriously.

This experience was also an unprecedented blow to her.

And she was not the kind of fragile woman who needed others to stand up for her.

“Li Fei!”

Shen Tuyue silently called this name in her heart.

She had never looked forward to a duel as much as she did at this moment!

“All these people?”

Just then, a voice sounded leisurely along the street.

“Such profound force.”

Shen Tuyue was startled and stood up, walking toward the entrance.

She saw a middle-aged man clad in scholar garb standing on the roof of the teahouse opposite the Red Sleeve Tavern.

The man had a refined demeanor, appearing as if he were there to enjoy tea.

He glanced at the dense crowd below, and finally turned his gaze to Huang Jin, who was standing beside Shen Tuyue, and smiled faintly,

“I’m here to kill someone. Once I’m done, I’ll leave. I won’t disturb your duel.”

…

Seeking monthly ticket