Chapter 100: The Invisible Paths, The Hidden Pulse for a Thousand Miles_2
"Sir."
The secretary, who had been waiting outside the door, pushed the door open.
"Make arrangements, I would like to meet with Xu Jing today."
Lu Wenzheng said.
"Yes."
The secretary nodded in response.
That afternoon, Lu Wenzheng rode the 'Qilin' and arrived outside a secluded courtyard with a convoy of guards.
Afterward, protected by a group of guards, Lu Wenzheng entered the courtyard and saw Xu Jing at a pavilion in the middle of a lake.
Xu Jing had the Cloud Soaring Divine Power and had flown overnight from Datong Prefecture City to the provincial city, taking up residence in this specially arranged courtyard.
At this time, he seemed to have fully recovered; the eyes that Hao Yi had slashed blind, the ears that had been cut off, arms, and so on, had all been restored to their original state.
"You all stay here."
Lu Wenzheng instructed the guards and then walked alone across the long corridor to enter the lakeside pavilion.
"Is Mr. Xu well?"
Lu Wenzheng wiped the sweat from his forehead, found a stool to sit down, and began to ask.
Xu Jing looked at him expressionlessly: "Is Lord Lu here to laugh at me?"
Lu Wenzheng revealed a smile, his cheeks piled up with flesh:
"Where would Mr. Xu get such an idea? Am I not the person who most wishes to see you succeed?"
Xu Jing turned his head to look at the lake: "Then I have disappointed Lord Lu."
He had been severely wounded by Hao Yi, and although he had used the stored Life Force in the Black Water to recover, that portion of strength, originally from Sword King Gu Xianfeng, was supposed to be used for breakthrough. Without that accumulation, it would be difficult for him to achieve a breakthrough.
After all, he would find it hard to find another Martial Arts Master with a Tao Foundation perfectly compatible with his to devour.
Additionally, having been defeated by Hao Yi once more, his Heart Realm was sullied again, further complicating the difficulty of breakthrough.
"Hao Yi and Shangguan Xiao are dead."
Lu Wenzheng smiled as he spoke.
"What did you say?!"
Xu Jing turned sharply around, staring intently at Lu Wenzheng.
"I had Master Qi Yiming specifically deduce the circumstances, and he confirmed that both Hao Yi and Shangguan Xiao are indeed no longer with us. To deceive his deduction, only a True Master proficient in this art could do so, but it's improbable that Hao Yi could privately meet such a True Master without attracting any attention."
Lu Wenzheng explained.
"Refining Life! So, he used all his remaining lifespan that day!"
Xu Jing's eyes lit up with excitement while saying,
"No wonder his slash was so strong; he had burned through decades of lifespan!"
The gloom in Xu Jing's heart was swept away in an instant.
He had guessed the method of Hao Yi's breakthrough, but he did not know that Hao Yi did not gain 60 years of extended life after the breakthrough.
Therefore, he mistakenly believed that Hao Yi's final slash had burned through over 60 years of lifespan!
Losing to such a slash, Xu Jing could fully accept it.
He was not familiar with Refining Objects Divine Power and had not crossed swords for over thirty years; he also did not know to what extent Hao Yi had mastered the swordsmanship.
Thus, it was a grave misconception, but Xu Jing felt it was the truth.
Hao Yi, having exhausted his life, still failed to kill him and, in the end, can be said to have died at his hand.
A smile appeared on Xu Jing's face.
A king in victory, a bandit in defeat; in this rivalry between the two, he ultimately won.
Seeing Xu Jing regain his confidence and resolve issues in his Heart Realm, Lu Wenzheng's smile became even broader:
"Now that Hao Yi is dead, Mr. Xu, what certainty do you have in achieving a breakthrough?"
Xu Jing regained his composure: "The power I devoured from Gu Xianfeng has been depleted; without the accumulation, if I attempt to force a breakthrough now, the chance of success is less than ten percent."
Lu Wenzheng nodded, not surprised by this:
"Then, how about if Mr. Xu could devour an Azure Water Sky Cloud Beast for the breakthrough, what would your odds be?"
"Azure Water Sky Cloud Beast?!"
Xu Jing was shocked for the second time that day.
This was a high-rank Seventh-grade Water Attribute Exotic Beast!
Top Three Grades Mutant Beasts are seldom seen in the world; a high-rank Seventh-grade Mutant Beast's Combat Power is stronger than that of most Martial Arts Masters.
Most importantly, the Azure Water Sky Cloud Beast possessed Water Control Divine Power, and if Xu Jing could use the Black Water Divine Power to devour it, the acquired strength would be perfectly compatible with him!
"Can Lord Lu really procure an Azure Water Sky Cloud Beast?"
Xu Jing looked at Lu Wenzheng in surprise, "As far as I know, the only Azure Water Sky Cloud Beast in this world is the Guardian Mountain Divine Beast of the Daluo Sect."
The Daluo Sect is a renowned Taoist holy land, a peerless World force. Not only do they have a Martial Saint, but also a True Monarch.
Xu Jing didn't believe that the Lu Family could manage to acquire someone else's Guardian Mountain Divine Beast.
Not even the Emperor himself could necessarily accomplish such a feat!
Lu Wenzheng's smile remained unchanged as he said, "The one from the Daluo Sect is naturally beyond my reach, but I can cultivate one myself. After all these years, hard work finally pays off for the determined, and I have successfully nurtured a Sixth Grade top-quality Azure Water Cloud Pattern Beast to Seventh Grade."
The Azure Water Cloud Pattern Beast is a Mid Third Grade exotic beast, only a step away from reaching the Top Three Grades; similarly rare in number.
Obtaining an Azure Water Cloud Pattern Beast was no small feat, let alone secretly cultivating it into a Seventh Grade mutant beast—such dexterity...
Looking at the ever-smiling Lu Wenzheng, Xu Jing felt wary of an ordinary person without any martial arts training for the first time!
"This Azure Water Sky Cloud Beast may not be comparable to the Daluo Sect's, but as a Seventh Grade Mutant Beast, how confident are you, Mr. Xu?"
Lu Wenzheng asked.
His style had always been to strive for absolute certainty, so he prepared many contingency plans for any project, just in case.
To establish this pilot university, the Lu Family spent over a decade laying the groundwork; how could Lu Wenzheng not have a backup plan?
More than a decade ago, he began secretly cultivating the Azure Water Sky Cloud Beast.
Now, this backup plan was brought into play.
"If it really is Seventh-grade, then I have at least a 70% chance of making a breakthrough!"
Xu Jing pondered for a moment before replying to Lu Wenzheng.
"That's good."
Lu Wenzheng nodded with a smile.
...
May 25th.
Inside the dormitory, Li Fei slowly opened his eyes.
Just now, his "Illusion Leaf" had made a breakthrough to the Body Breaking Late Stage.
Once the "steel armor" Implant had entered the Tao Foundation Stage, all branches converged into the Dantian, reducing the interference with "Illusion Leaf" to the minimum.
The growth rate of "Illusion Leaf" thereby accelerated and it had finally broken through today, reaching the Body Breaking Late Stage.
At the Body Breaking Late Stage, Li Fei could now use magic to replenish energy for "Dream Command" by himself without needing Zhao Yi's help anymore.
Moreover, with this breakthrough, Li Fei felt that his Mind Power had also strengthened somewhat.
After practicing the "Red Sound Fire Vajra Skill," Li Fei realized that the core of "Tao Power" was actually Mind Power.
Therefore, the enhancement in Mind Power would help him execute the ultimate skills of "Red Sound Fire Vajra Skill."
In addition, the 'damage' caused by "Illusion Leaf"'s breakthrough provided the Myriad Blood Pearl with enough energy needed for an upgrade.
In a battle a few days ago, Li Fei was attacked several times by Xu Jing using Divine Skills. The damage from the Divine Skills provided high-quality energy to the Myriad Blood Pearl, bringing its progress up swiftly, just a little short of upgrading.
Now, another upgrade:
[Rank: 16 Level 1%
Blood Soul: 310
Blood Soul Skill: Blood Rage, Blood Slaughter, Blood Power, Blood Spring (Strong)
Transform Skill: Blood Demon]
This upgrade resulted in a one-time increase of 30 Blood Souls.
Like the last upgrade, there were no new Blood Soul Skills added, but rather an opportunity to strengthen a Blood Soul Skill was given.
Since "Blood Spring" had already been strengthened by Li Fei, it could not be strengthened again this time.
He could choose one to strengthen from the remaining three Blood Soul Skills: "Blood Rage," "Blood Slaughter," and "Blood Power":
After strengthening, "Blood Rage" would increase its duration from one minute to three minutes.
After strengthening, "Blood Slaughter" would significantly extend the presence of Evil Qi.
After strengthening, "Blood Power" would add a group attack effect.
Li Fei thought for a moment and decided to strengthen "Blood Rage" this time.
In the "Blood Demon State," his body's limit was to use "Blood Rage" with 20 Blood Souls.
That meant he would consume 20 Blood Souls in just one minute!
As his physical strength improves further in the future, the number of Blood Souls consumed per minute would increase.
By strengthening "Blood Rage" and extending one minute to three minutes, Li Fei could save a significant amount of Blood Souls during combat.
After completing the strengthening, "Blood Rage" also changed in the 'information' provided by the Myriad Blood Pearl to: "Blood Rage" (Strong)
For the past few days, Li Fei hadn't gone anywhere, staying honestly within Wuda.
Since he hadn't yet recovered from the Blood Souls consumed in the last battle, even if he wanted to do something, he had to wait for his own recovery to peak.
Now, with the upgrade of the Myriad Blood Pearl, his condition instantly reached a new peak!
He picked up the Ghost Slash Blade that was placed on the table and walked out of his room.
...
PS: I'm about to prepare for the final climax of this volume, and after I organize a bit, there will be only one update today.