After You Broke Off the Engagement, I Broke Through Twelve Realms in a Single Day! - Chapter 41:

Chapter 41: 4th Stage Martial Venerable Realm

Li Feng had only been the Prime Minister of the Five Nations of the Wasteland for a few days when Xu Wenlong arrived, holding a letter, his face full of worry. “Prime Minister, something terrible has happened!” Xu Wenlong said anxiously, interrupting Li Feng, who was meditating on the 4th level of the Heaven and Man Record.

After Zhang Shouzheng’s transformation, the Heaven and Man Record had evolved into a profound-grade cultivation method, adding two more levels: the 4th level [Separation of Heaven and Man] and the 5th level [Reincarnation of the Heavenly Dao].

Li Feng stopped his cultivation and glanced at Xu Wenlong, “Speak slowly. The sky isn’t falling.” His main focus remained on cultivation, while the affairs of the Jishang Academy and governance of the empire were entrusted to Xu Wenlong, Zhou Danxin, and others. Under normal circumstances, Xu Wenlong would not disturb his cultivation. Could it be that the demons of Jiuyang Mountain had reappeared?

“It’s news from Luoxing City. During the Great Qing Empire’s invasion, the Liu family was exterminated!” Xu Wenlong carefully observed Li Feng’s expression, worried he might react in fury and implicate the Han Empire, destroying the hard-earned peace.

“I know you’re angry. If you want to vent, the Han King is willing to hand over the general who led the massacre of the Liu family for you to deal with. Even if you want to implicate his entire clan…” Xu Wenlong said hurriedly, trying to stabilize Li Feng’s mood and prevent any impulsive actions. After all, Li Feng was the Liu family’s son-in-law. It was only natural for him to be enraged after the annihilation of his wife’s entire family.

Xu Wenlong had long heard that the Liu family, relying on Li Feng’s name, had been plundering cultivation resources from the surrounding counties, causing widespread resentment. Many even secretly cursed Li Feng. Without Li Feng’s tacit approval, the Liu family couldn’t have been so arrogant for so long. Clearly, the Liu family weighed heavily in his heart. Now that such a tragedy had occurred, if Li Feng took it seriously, it would be troublesome.

What Xu Wenlong didn’t expect was that after hearing the bad news, Li Feng remained calm. He blinked once and asked, “That’s the good news. What’s the bad news?”

“Wait… what did you say?” Xu Wenlong, still wanting to repeat the Han King’s words, froze when he heard Li Feng.

“This is good news?” Xu Wenlong looked at Li Feng in shock, suspecting he was overwhelmed by grief. How could he call it good news when his father-in-law, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law had all just died?

“The Liu family has long used my name to harm the people. They deserved to die,” Li Feng said indifferently.

Xu Wenlong was surprised, “You knew what they were doing?”

“I knew. As long as they didn’t kill or harm commoners, I let them be. Heaven makes those it wishes to destroy first go mad.” The Liu family, having suddenly risen to the status of an aristocratic family, rarely oppressed commoners but heavily extorted cultivation resources from other aristocratic families in nearby counties, which was much quicker.

Li Feng nodded slightly and instructed, “Later, I’ll give you some resources. Distribute them to the commoners oppressed by the Liu family. Also, have the Han Empire return what the Liu family seized from those counties. Then the matter will be settled.”

With the resources provided by Li Feng and the returned goods from the Han Empire, the commoners of those counties would end up gaining ten times more. After all, the Liu family mainly oppressed the aristocratic families, concentrating their resources to redistribute among the commoners.

Moreover, the Liu family had accumulated vast cultivation resources but lacked the strength to protect them, dying under the Han Empire’s army as they deserved. Due to Liu Ruyue’s relationship, Li Feng couldn’t strike directly at the Liu family himself. The Han Empire’s army had, in a way, done him a favor.

Also, because Li Feng had slain Ancestor Huo Yun so swiftly, the Han Empire’s forces dared not act recklessly and only left behind a few corpses of the Liu family in Luoxing City.

Xu Wenlong took a deep breath. As long as Li Feng didn’t pursue the matter, it was fine. Another thought crossed his mind, “On behalf of the commoners of those counties, I thank you. But what if the aristocratic families who were extorted by the Liu family demand their resources back? How should I respond?”

Li Feng smiled playfully, “Tell them to find the Liu family. The Liu family extorted them, not the Han Empire, and certainly not us. If anyone stirs trouble, arrest them immediately!”

“Brilliant! The Prime Minister is truly a genius!” Xu Wenlong’s eyes lit up as he looked at Li Feng with newfound admiration. He had always thought Li Feng was a gentleman, but clearly, he could play political tricks just as masterfully.

“Wenlong, to deal with scoundrels, you must be even craftier than they are. You still need more experience,” Li Feng patted Xu Wenlong on the shoulder with an encouraging smile.

Xu Wenlong stood up and bowed deeply, “Thank you for your guidance, Prime Minister!”

…

[You spent two and a half years meditating in Kuzhou Pavilion to gain an opportunity. To repay karma, you must remain at Jishang Academy for five years. Current days at Jishang Academy: 1823/1825.]

Years passed quickly in Kuzhou Pavilion.

Zhang Shouzheng, now with a head full of white hair, sat atop the Heaven and Man Record, radiating a hazy purple glow, solemnly explaining the essence of the 4th level of the Heaven and Man Record to Li Feng.

In these years, he finally fulfilled his duty as a master, spending a great deal of time daily teaching Li Feng.

“The 4th level [Separation of Heaven and Man] is the complete opposite of [Union of Heaven and Man],” he explained. “In this realm, you must regard the Heavenly Dao as an independent, objective entity with its own rules that do not change according to human will.”

“Like the movements of the sun, moon, and stars, the changing of seasons, the formation of wind and rain—these are the natural operations of the Heavenly Dao. Human actions can hardly alter them.”

“To master this level, you must separate yourself from the Heavenly Dao, existing independently outside of it. Focus solely on cultivating yourself, forget the old meridian routes used in the [Union of Heaven and Man], and achieve a state of forgetting both self and surroundings to succeed!”

As Zhang Shouzheng spoke, countless tadpole-like characters flooded Li Feng’s mind, sending him into a state of enlightenment.

What could be clearer than receiving the direct transmission of a cultivation method’s essence?

With other profound-grade cultivation methods, even with a spirit within them, the spirit would never personally explain the Dao. Once someone fully mastered a profound-grade cultivation method, the spirit would vanish, becoming a life-bound sacred artifact used to aid their breakthrough to the Martial Saint Realm.

But Zhang Shouzheng was willing to sacrifice himself to help Li Feng break through, simply because they were the same kind of person. The stronger Li Feng became, the more good he could do for all beings.

Surrounded by purple energy and runes, Li Feng’s aura grew stronger, and he smoothly broke through to the 4th stage Martial Venerable Realm.

In an instant, his thoughts and divine sense traversed thousands of mountains and rivers, roaming the five nations of the Wasteland. However, he encountered a barrier in the Demon Mist Mountain Range of the Han Empire. It was as if an invisible wall blocked him, preventing him from crossing despite his current cultivation.

Even with Han Li’s assistance in refining pills over these years, Li Feng’s cultivation speed had slowed, advancing only one minor stage per year.

Though not considered slow by ordinary standards, Li Feng was still dissatisfied. It was like a whale trapped in a pond; no matter how many small fish and shrimp it devoured, it could not grow any larger.

Just as Li Feng finished his cultivation and calmed his breath, his divine sense detected a rift opening in the Demon Mist Mountain Range. Several Martial Venerable Realm experts, bathed in radiant light, walked out of the crack into the sky. After exchanging glances, they quickly dispersed outside the rift.

Soon after, news spread throughout the five nations that Martial Venerable Realm experts had returned from beyond the Wasteland, shocking the world!

Especially in the Great Qing Empire, where even the Zhang family of Luoxing City, which had already perished, saw the return of a Martial Venerable Realm ancestor. Upon his return, he immediately revealed his identity and declared that he wanted Li Feng to visit Luoxing City to pay his respects. He claimed to have important matters to entrust to Li Feng, hoping to mentor him out of their shared hometown connection.