Chapter 269: Chapter 36 The Poison of Human Heart Chapter 269: Chapter 36 The Poison of Human Heart On the Dragon and Tiger Platform, Li Fei stood.
Below, Liu Zheng lay prostrate.
Li Fei indeed dared not reveal his true strength, but in the final, most critical mont, he still used the Myriad Blood Pearl to block Liu Zheng’s attack and even activated “Blood Rage.”
If it were just a montary anomaly, it actually could have been acceptable; Li Fei didn’t even need to explain, as others would automatically assu it was so kind of ultimate move.
“Excellent!!!”
After a brief silence, applause and cheers erupted from the tavern.
Clearly, they were emitted by people from the Zhang Family.
“Wonderful—”
Then, audiences around the Dragon and Tiger Platform also began clapping and cheering.
In all honesty, they didn’t care much about who won; they were more interested in whether the fight was enjoyable to watch.
To them, the final confrontation looked spectacular and was fought with great spirit!
“Did he actually, really win?”
Among the crowd, Zhao Yi stared blankly at the figure on the platform.
She knew about the Limit-breaking Pill, as a Mage at the Possession Stage who was her master had told her a great deal about the affairs of the World.
A martial master at the peak of the Qi Change Stage who took a Limit-breaking Pill had nearly reached the Tao Foundation Stage in strength!
Li Fei managed to win against such an opponent?
Although it was under the rules of a tournant, it was still enough to shock Zhao Yi.
Could she really overco such a person?
Zhao Yi wasn’t actually afraid of climbing high mountains, as she was determined to beco number one.
But what chilled her heart was that the mountain she needed to climb was growing taller at an astounding rate!
At that mont, the joy of having successfully broken through to the Divine Transformation Stage vanished completely.
How long would it take for to catch up to such an outstanding individual? Ten years? Twenty years?
Zhao Yi fell into confusion…
On the Dragon and Tiger Platform, Li Fei looked up toward a spot in the tavern.
There, Chu Po stood expressionlessly.
At the mont Liu Zheng was swept off the platform, he really wanted to just leave.
But reason forced him to stand still.
Leaving at that mont would only bring more disgrace to the already embarrassed Chu Family.
“Chu Helmsman.”
Li Fei looked at Chu Po and spoke out loud.
When he spoke, the surroundings quickly quieted down.
“Does the Chu Family have anyone else coming up?”
Li Fei asked.
Chu Po clenched his fists, but his face remained composed:
“No more.”
“Good.”
Li Fei nodded, “Then I hope the Chu Helmsman will honor the agreent, starting tomorrow, bring all the Chu Family mbers to the Zhang Mansion to mourn for three days!”
Chu Po was silent for a mont, then slowly said:
“Alright.”
Leaving behind this word, he turned and left.
“Sigh—”
In another tavern, everyone from the Zhang Family breathed a sigh of relief, then started to cheer.
With today’s battle, and with the Chu Family coming to mourn at the Zhang Mansion, the Zhang Family could finally catch a breath and see a glimr of hope in this perilous situation!
Shangguan Xiao looked at the figure below, and the scene of her first eting with Li Fei flashed in her mind.
Back then, Li Fei was a disciple who needed her protection.
But now, this disciple had grown into soone she could rely on with ease.
…
Soon, Li Fei and Shangguan Xiao returned to the Zhang Mansion.
Upon returning, Li Fei intended to take off the Forth Level Protective Clothing he was wearing and return it to the Zhang Family, but Zhang Zedong stopped him.
This piece of Forth Level Protective Clothing belonged to the main family, and there was only one such piece.
Zhang Zongyang actually had one as well, but it was from Zhi Ge General Hospital, considered public property, and was reclaid after his death.
“You have resolved a crisis for my family and restored our honor; keep this Protective Clothing as a token of my family’s gratitude to you.”
Zhang Zedong said to Li Fei in front of all the Zhang Family mbers present.
This statent elicited a variety of expressions.
A piece of Forth Level Protective Clothing, valued as much as a Fifth Level Abnormal Weapon, was a priceless treasure, and Zhang Zedong freely giving one to Li Fei showed great generosity.
But to draw in an outstanding hero like Li Fei, it seed well worth it, especially at a ti like this.
Li Fei wanted to kindly refuse, but Shangguan Xiao stopped him.
She looked at Li Fei, “You should take it. You might face more risks soon, and I’ll feel more at ease if you’re wearing Forth Level Protective Clothing.”
Since Shangguan Xiao had spoken, Li Fei, no longer being pretentious, thanked Zhang Zedong.
This scene made the people from the second and third branches feel a bit uneasy.
The external crisis being temporarily resolved, the internal strife began again.
Or rather, the internal strife had never stopped.
Next, Zhang Zedong intended to arrange a room for Shangguan Xiao, but she declined.
“I won’t be staying at the Zhang Family.”
Shangguan Xiao said calmly.
“Younger sister!”
Zhang Zedong looked at her sowhat helplessly, “At a ti like this, do you really need to keep your distance from the family like this?”
Shangguan Xiao looked at him with icy eyes, “Second Brother, I will definitely do my utmost to help the Zhang family through this crisis, but I have never coveted the position of family head.”
In this world where martial might is supre, there are families with won as their heads, so Shangguan Xiao actually had a significant advantage if she truly wished to compete.
But she had never thought of vying for it.
Zhang Zedong: “…”
Shangguan Xiao glanced around at the various expressions of the people present, and the schadenfreude she saw in many eyes only intensified her disdain:
“I will not abandon the Zhang family, but as for the position of family head, whoever wants to fight for it can do so. My surna is Shangguan, not Zhang.”
With those final words, Shangguan Xiao turned and left.
Li Fei followed closely behind.
The two walked one behind the other out of the Zhang Mansion and slowly down the street.
“Do you think I’m being lodramatic, seemingly unable to let go of the family, yet wanting to set clear boundaries with them?”
Shangguan Xiao suddenly asked.
Li Fei calmly responded, “I’m not aware of the intricacies between you and your family, so I won’t comnt.”
He had always believed that one should not preach goodness to others without first understanding their troubles.
Shangguan Xiao smiled faintly, then spoke in a detached tone:
“I’m just tired of these clan disputes and those ugly faces. Sotis, the ones who hurt you the most are not your enemies but your family, the people closest to you.”
Li Fei nodded, feeling deeply.
“I promised to protect the Zhang family and help them through this difficult ti solely because I feel I owe my father. So, I cannot let the Zhang family fall. But to risk my life for those who only see profit, I feel nothing but disgust.”
Shangguan Xiao shook her head, looking at Li Fei, “I just implicated you…”
She had given Li Fei the forth level protective clothing, which was actually a way to secure an advantage for him in advance.
She could help the Zhang family unconditionally, but Li Fei was under no obligation to do so, and as his ntor, she did not want him to be at a disadvantage.
“Master.”
Li Fei interrupted, “There’s no talk of burden. In this world, so things don’t need to be so clearly divided. For instance, if I encountered difficulties in Datong Prefecture, I believe you and the teacher would choose to help without hesitation.”
Shangguan Xiao’s face brightened with a smile, “Okay, let’s not talk about this anymore.”
Then, the two entered an inn.
This inn was established by the Governnt to accommodate officials visiting from other places.
As an Imperial Official, Shangguan Xiao naturally had the qualifications to stay there.
Staying here, she at least didn’t have to worry about her safety.
Even her most crazed enemies wouldn’t dare to attack the Governnt’s inn at such a critical juncture.
Moreover, with a forth-level sitting official already dead, if another incident happened to an Imperial Official staying in the Governnt’s inn, the Garrison Commander of Datong Prefecture, the Inspector General of the Inspection General Bureau, the Chief of Zhi Ge General Hospital, and other such high-ranking figures would have to resign imdiately!
Actually, Shangguan Xiao could have stayed in a higher-ranked inn, but currently, it was occupied by an investigation team from the provincial city. She did not want to be involved since she was part of the case and needed to avoid suspicion.
After registering at the front desk and getting a room, Li Fei followed Shangguan Xiao into the room.
Shangguan Xiao had sothing to ask him.
“Did you find out any inside information through the Inspection General Office?”
With the door closed, Shangguan Xiao asked.
Li Fei had previously ntioned that he would try to learn more about the murder of Zhang Zongyang through his role as a secret inspector at the Inspection General Office.
“Yes, it’s about your father’s autopsy.”
Li Fei nodded.
At the ti of Zhang Zongyang’s autopsy, representatives from various parties were present, so the Inspection General Office also obtained a copy of the results.
Technically, Li Fei should not have had access to these results, but perhaps because he was Shangguan Xiao’s nephew by martial lineage, for so reason, Xia Huan had Lu ngyang reveal crucial intelligence to him:
“Your father’s body was found to contain a very rare toxin, initially judged to be a type of poison that activates on a tid schedule.”
“What did you say?!”
Shangguan Xiao suddenly stood up, a murderous look flashing in her eyes.
She had always had a major doubt about Zhang Zongyang’s death: who had the ability to kill him?
Zhang Zongyang was a well-known Tao Foundation Stage powerhouse, had incorporated three implants and cultivated them to the Qi Change Stage, achieving high-level Force.
In terms of combat power, he was among the upper echelons of Tao Foundation Stage powerhouses.
There might still be many powerhouses within Datong Prefecture capable of defeating Zhang Zongyang, but very few could kill him, given the extraordinary resilience of Tao Foundation Stage warriors. Killing them was extrely difficult.
On the night Zhang Zongyang was murdered, the interval from the sounds of the battle starting in the courtyard to its conclusion was less than five minutes.
To kill a Tao Foundation Stage powerhouse like Zhang Zongyang in five minutes, ensuring that he couldn’t even flee, there were few in the entire Datong Prefecture capable of that.
And those few had almost no reason to kill Zhang Zongyang.
That was what baffled Shangguan Xiao.
Now, her questions were finally answered:
So, her father had been poisoned before his death!
“What kind of poison?”
Shangguan Xiao asked.
Li Fei shook his head, “It’s still unclear. Poisons that can affect a Tao Foundation Stage powerhouse are extrely rare…”
“Do you have anything else to say?”
Shangguan Xiao noticed Li Fei’s hesitation.
Li Fei paused for a mont, then slowly said:
“After entering Wuda, I studied poisons under a teacher specialized in Poisonology. He told that poisons like this, which activate periodically, are actually customized. They require prolonged observation and research.”
Shangguan Xiao stared intently at Li Fei, “What are you saying?!”
Being intelligent and possessing an instinct that pierced into the heart of matters, she imdiately grasped Li Fei’s implication.
If creating a periodically-activating poison required long-term observation and research, then who could have observed and studied Zhang Zongyang for such a duration?
The most likely would be soone close to him, a mber of the Zhang family!
At that mont, Shangguan Xiao suddenly felt a chill.
The idea of a poison that could affect even a Tao Foundation Stage powerhouse was terrifying, but more horrifying was the venom within people’s hearts!
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