Chapter 2847 - 2909: Secret Base

After finishing his talk with the Saintess, Li Yifei turned and called Murong Yuanqing. The two hadn’t been in touch for a while. The old man’s health was getting worse and worse, yet he still had to rush around the country, busy with national affairs—it really wasn’t easy. The pity was that there was no one to succeed him... Over these years Murong Yuanqing had been looking for a successor, but compared to their era, nowadays there just aren’t many people willing to cultivate. A lot of people, even if they have talent, end up buried.

Even if you start training someone from childhood, by the time they reach forty or fifty they might still not amount to much. It’s a very helpless situation. And someone like Li Yifei, who grew up wild and rough, yet in the end could suddenly soar into the sky, stun everyone with a single cry—that kind of case is far too rare. Looking across the whole country, Murong Yuanqing hadn’t found many like Li Yifei, whose cultivation is solid and whose character is also trustworthy.

Of course, right now Murong Yuanqing still didn’t know Li Yifei’s exact level of cultivation, otherwise he would have even more confidence in him.

The call connected, and Murong Yuanqing’s voice came through. Li Yifei quickly offered his greetings.

"Kid, what made you think of calling me? Go on, what’s up?" Murong Yuanqing laughed.

"Elder Murong, what, I can’t call you if I don’t have anything going on?"

"Of course you can. But since you did call, that definitely means there’s something. Say it—anything I can help you with, I’ll do my best." Murong Yuanqing said.

"Alright, Elder, you really do know me. But this time it’s not about my own business!" After Li Yifei finished that sentence, before Murong Yuanqing could ask, he directly laid out the situation with the Zhao Family in Black Province.

"Do you have solid evidence?" Murong Yuanqing asked.

"Only this recording. No conclusive proof."

Murong Yuanqing mused, "The Zhao Family in Black Province is an old clan. That old man Zhao Qingtian is twenty or thirty years younger than me. Decades ago, several of his sons died in battle one after another. The son you just mentioned should be one he had later. Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I last saw him."

"Elder, you mean... Zhao Qingtian might not be a bad person?" Li Yifei asked with a frown.

"How could that be? Heh, I never said he wasn’t a bad person. In fact, back then he did plenty of nasty things. It’s just that people like us, for the sake of the good deeds he did as well, chose to be lenient with him. Plus, after the founding of the country, he really did improve quite a bit. He volunteered to stay in Black Province, in name guarding the Northern region, so we just let him be."

"I see, that’s good then. Otherwise I was just about to say I’d already injured him." Li Yifei muttered. On the other end, Murong Yuanqing heard clearly and said, "You injured him?"

"Yeah. He called me up to Black Province, so I went. Looked like he was trying to set up a Hongmen Banquet. Too bad I’ve got a few tricks of my own, so that Hongmen Banquet of his didn’t work out. Instead, I ended up injuring him."

"Your cultivation has advanced again?" Murong Yuanqing asked in surprise, but he didn’t dwell on the fact that Li Yifei had injured Zhao Qingtian.

"Not in this recent stretch of time. But last time, after Dual Cultivation with Su Lio, didn’t I fall into a coma? During this period I’ve basically finished comprehending the changes in my body. I’ve gained new insights into many things, so I’ve had some improvement." Li Yifei said.

"That’s a good thing. When we get the chance to meet, let me take a look at just how far you’ve progressed." Murong Yuanqing said with delight.

"No problem, I can go any time." Li Yifei laughed. "Elder, about the Zhao Family matter?"

"If possible, you’d better obtain direct evidence and investigate thoroughly. A clan like the Zhao Family acting this out of character is ultimately not good. Besides, you said the Holy War Organization is showing similar signs."

"I suspect the Noah’s Ark Organization has already infiltrated the country, and may even secretly have many helpers in place. They might have already started planning certain operations. Otherwise the Zhao Family wouldn’t be stupid enough to expose themselves so blatantly!" Li Yifei said after thinking it over.

"Not bad, your concerns are justified. And in fact... the situation is worse than you think." Murong Yuanqing suddenly said, his tone turning somewhat heavy.

"What’s happened?" Li Yifei asked immediately.

"For now we don’t need you. Focus on your own affairs—no, you just concentrate on investigating the Zhao Family. We can still handle things on our side." Murong Yuanqing refused.

Li Yifei understood Murong Yuanqing’s character. If he said he didn’t need you, then he really didn’t. Likewise, if he did need you, he wouldn’t hide it—he’d say it straight out.

"Then... how about this: I’ll come over sometime in the near future. I happen to have some doubts and insights about cultivation, I can talk them over with you, Elder, and once I get back I’ll start investigating the Zhao Family matter." Li Yifei said.

"Good, it’s settled then." Murong Yuanqing agreed.

After getting home, Li Yifei told the women what had happened. Everyone sat down together to discuss their next steps. The Zhao Family had taken a hit this time and were acting very cowardly, but Li Yifei absolutely did not believe they would just let it go.

"But over at the business school... you can’t keep skipping forever. How about this, hubby: you go twice a week. Even though your status is what it is, school is still school." Xu Yingying persuaded.

Li Yifei curled his lips and said, "Alright then, twice a week it is. The rest of the time I’ll come back and handle things here. It’s better if I sit in town at home; you can feel a bit more at ease too."

"Okay!" Everyone nodded.

Two days later, Li Yifei appeared in a valley deep in the Qilian Mountains. This place had been designated a military restricted zone; ordinary people were absolutely forbidden to approach, and soldiers guarded it strictly. When Li Yifei came here, someone sent by Murong Yuanqing came out to pick him up.

From the outside, it looked like a ring of mountains all around. Only after coming in did Li Yifei realize this place was actually hidden within a Formation Method. From outside you couldn’t see anything inside. Once he was brought in, even with his broad experience and knowledge, he was still repeatedly astonished, because this was an enormous military base.

"Institute 1548?" After seeing a standing sign over at one spot, Li Yifei couldn’t help but widen his eyes even more. Rumor had it this institute was established during the War of Resistance. Stories about it said it was unfathomably deep; as for what it actually did, everyone had a different version, and the rumors were all over the place. Even though Li Yifei was the captain of the Flying Hawk Squad and had access to enormous amounts of resources and information, he still had no idea what this institute really did.

He hadn’t expected that he was just coming to see Murong Yuanqing, yet the other side had actually brought him here. Relying on his professional instincts, Li Yifei immediately judged that this must be an absolute military secret of Huaxia, at the very highest level. You could tell just from the surroundings here: anyone who could freely come and go had to be someone with extremely high status and integrity, otherwise they simply wouldn’t be allowed in.

Li Yifei looked around curiously while sitting on an electric cart. The person next to him who had brought him in had a stiff face and didn’t crack a smile—no, he didn’t even say a single word. But he also didn’t stop Li Yifei from looking around everywhere, clearly aware of who his passenger was.

"This is pretty high-end." Li Yifei even saw another institute. This one was called "40932" Institute. Generally, research institutes or organizations named purely with numbers like that were either relics from a certain era, or intentionally named that way. And often those were extremely formidable institutions.

"Two institutes merged together? That’s not common either." Li Yifei muttered. The "no?smile" beside him moved his lips and said, "There are four entities in total here, they’re in a cooperative relationship."

"Four?" Li Yifei raised his brows. Without the other man saying more, he quickly saw for himself—there really were four institutions. He also spotted several people: it was Murong Yuanqing, along with Yao Lingfu and others. Li Yifei thanked the man who had brought him, then jumped off the cart and strode toward Murong Yuanqing and the rest.

They hadn’t seen each other for a while. In the past, Murong Yuanqing had always been straight as a pine, calm and at ease. Now, though, his body was slightly hunched. The smile on Li Yifei’s face gradually faded. Looking at Murong Yuanqing smiling at him, a sudden ache rose in his heart.

"Elder." Li Yifei even wanted to give Murong Yuanqing a full formal salute like a disciple to his master. But just as he moved, Murong Yuanqing grabbed his hand. When Li Yifei looked up he saw the old elder’s smiling face. It was already full of wrinkles, but his hand gripped Li Yifei’s tightly, shaking it a few times with force as he said, "It’s good that you’re here. Don’t think too much. People all grow old; I’ve already delayed mine by decades."

Li Yifei still felt uncomfortable inside, but he gritted his teeth, stood up straight, and greeted Yao Lingfu and the others one by one.

They walked into the mountain itself. The interior was like another world, protected by both modern technology and Formation Methods, with extremely strict access control. With Murong Yuanqing and the others leading him in, Li Yifei had nothing to worry about, but if no one had led him, then relying on brute force alone, he probably wouldn’t have even thought about getting in.

In an office, Li Yifei sat down with Murong Yuanqing and the others. The old man let go of his arm and said, "You really are different now. I can no longer sense your cultivation at all."

Yao Lingfu also nodded. "I didn’t expect that in just such a short time, you’d already broken through to this level."

"Elders, I actually came this time to ask about some things in cultivation," Li Yifei said immediately.

"No rush. You just got here—sit for a bit first." Murong Yuanqing said.

"Alright." Li Yifei sat up straight and proper. He could tell Murong Yuanqing seemed to be waiting for someone, so he wasn’t in a hurry. He chatted with everyone about recent events, without deliberately steering things toward any particular topic.

After half an hour, the door opened and a few people walked in. Almost all of them were old men. Li Yifei noticed one of them was wearing a Zhongshan suit—a type of clothing he hadn’t seen in years. The old man was an ordinary person with no cultivation, his hair already gray, looking to be in his seventies or eighties. After coming in, he merely glanced at Li Yifei, then went straight to find a seat and sit down.

There was another man wearing a white lab coat. The coat was somewhat dirty, but he didn’t seem to care in the slightest. After he came in he gave everyone a smile, pushed up his thick, bottle-bottom glasses, and likewise found a seat—right next to Li Yifei.