True Solution of the Sword Dao
Chapter 179 - 173 Friendship Part 1

Chapter 179: Chapter 173 Friendship Part 1

Therefore, this is also one of the reasons why the final layer is the hardest to break through.

Lin Fei checked the annotations of the Qi Cultivation Chapter and found that, indeed, this stage is a minor checkpoint. During the cultivation process of the Sword Dao True Solution, even just laying the foundation with the Qi Cultivation Chapter entails many checkpoints. Some major checkpoints might leave a person stuck for a lifetime, unable to break through. This is why many practice the Sword Dao True Solution, but most become famous by relying on other powers. This can be seen from the records of names in the appendix.

Whether it’s Zhang Yuan from the Jue Xian Sect or other commenters, none of them primarily used this as their cultivation scripture, despite their high regard for it.

After checking his current progress, Lin Fei frowned, finding not the slightest advancement. In two more days, he would be on a joint mission with Shueisha. He could only collect his thoughts and adjust his state for now.

He reviewed the matters needing attention.

There’s been no significant activity from the Dream World for the time being. The Wu Family seemed to be waiting for something, and Lin Fei was waiting too.

According to the information on the Wu Family, the one most likely to be a Dream Eater and closest to the True Lies is Wu Yanqing.

Wu Yanqing, a family member who went to America, male, 43 years old, has a daughter and a son. His wife died due to complications during childbirth. He currently manages about half of the Wu Family’s visible assets and is one of the core members. The reason Lin Fei targeted him is that Wu Yanqing has been announced as the future helmsman of the Wu Family. As someone who is likely to assume the position of Clan Leader, it’s highly probable that he is guarding an important piece of the Divine Artifact.

However, for a typical Dream Eater, the True Lies Divine Artifact is nothing but a hot potato that no one wishes to pursue. Because although Dream Eaters can strengthen themselves with the Power of True Lies, this requires time, and the strengthening process is said to be extremely painful. There have been several instances where individuals obtained a piece of the Divine Artifact only to suffer unbearable pain and die from absorbing the Power of True Lies.

Moreover, crucially, after obtaining a piece of the Divine Artifact, the overwhelming Power of True Lies would continuously erode the holder’s body. In other words, once they obtained a piece, the Dream Eater had to endure intense agony, whether they liked it or not.

And for non-Dream Eaters, the Divine Artifact piece is like a tasteless meal; they cannot feel the pain but are also unable to stimulate its power. Furthermore, the Dream World has been out of sync with the Inner World for a long time, so even fewer people are aware of the news about the five great Dream Eater families. Generally, when a low-level Dream Eater encounters a low-level Psychic, the Dream Eater will win 100% of the time. Dream Awakeners naturally have a significant advantage when fighting against other power users as they can drag others into their own Dream World to battle, a method only high-level Inner World experts can resist.

Lin Fei is of the non-Dream Eater type, but strangely, his Blue Flame seems to be extremely effective against Dream World experts, and he has a natural affinity for merging with the Power of True Lies. He is even able to harness its deceiving properties to fool others into helping him with his cultivation. This is the fundamental reason why he is plotting to acquire a piece of the Divine Artifact.

After the Wu Family returns to the country, they will undoubtedly clash with the local Dream World forces.

The local power is not just of the caliber of the Dragon Eye. Lin Fei has also learned from the Dream Eaters captured by Shuang’er that there are three major forces that dominate most of the Dream World in Hua Nation, with a network of powerful members spread everywhere. If the Wu Family wishes to unify the entirety of Hua Nation, they first have to confront these three major forces.

In the Southwest, the organization that dominates a large area is the Forest of the Sky.

In the Northwest, it’s led by the legendary icy snow realm.

Finally, there’s the Jinneng Temple in the far West.

These three local forces have always been extremely secretive, and due to the complex environment in Hua Nation, the three organizations have almost always kept to themselves without interfering with each other. But this time, as the Wu Family aims to expand aggressively, a significant collision between the two sides is inevitable.

This is the opportunity Lin Fei has been waiting for. A battle will naturally require the strengthening of his subordinates, and the Wu Family will definitely frequently use parts of the Divine Artifact to strengthen family members. Although Lin Fei’s combat power is at most C-level in the real world, in the Dream World, due to the advantageous nature of his power, he even has the confidence to face B-level opponents. He has gained a lot of information about B-level opponents through exchanges with Sis, so he has a detailed judgment in mind.

"Just a bit longer," Lin Fei said softly as he stood in his bedroom and slowly closed the Black Demon Sword. The current problem was how to quickly overcome the aftereffects. As Aisaha had proven more powerful than expected, even reaching B-level might not be enough to defeat him.

**************

Ping City No. 7 Middle School could be considered one of the worst schools in the entire city. But because of its affordable tuition fees, the enrollment was quite high. Of course, due to the mixed student body, the school environment was expectedly not great.

The ground was littered with discarded food containers and drink bottles, used tissues, and various colored convenience bags, almost everywhere on the campus. The few flower beds had several pieces missing, with the edges of the gray-white concrete stained with something greasy, creating a nauseous sheen under the sunlight.

The students at the school were mostly dressed untidily, either in simple attire or looking ruffianly. No matter the gender, students often chased each other out of the classrooms, brawling. The entire school was in chaos.

Jiang Nan chose this place for one single reason: it was the closest to the house where she was staying with Lin Fei, and it was the cheapest. She earned one thousand five hundred from working at the Swordsmanship Club, but once school started, she figured her hours would greatly diminish, and she might not have time for work anymore. She had thought it possible to both study and work, but now it seemed to be wishful thinking. In other words, once school started, she would lose her income.

There are three teaching buildings at No. 7 Middle School, two are used for student classrooms, and one contains the laboratories, the administrative office, the principal’s office, and other offices. The three buildings are arranged in a curved line, enclosing the playground in the center, where a small flag-raising platform flies a dusty red flag that is raised and lowered only a few times a month.

Jiang Nan’s Class, the first year, class two, is on the second floor of the teaching building on the far right, directly facing the school gate.

It was still very early before the start of school, and there were not many people around the campus, with just the occasional sight of a few student couples in the corners. These students, unsupervised and unguided, had prematurely encountered many aspects of the adult world and learned things inappropriate for their age.

The midday sun shone down on the playground, reflecting a bright white luster that was somewhat dazzling to the eyes.

Jiang Nan stood at the entrance to a second-floor classroom. She had just visited the academic affairs office and finally managed to transfer her records from her old school. Though she had already been attending classes here for a while, the transfer of her records had taken excruciatingly slow. It was not until today that someone notified her of their arrival.

The reason for the delay was, of course, because she was not a good student; the academic office did not pay much attention to her case.

Pushing open the classroom door, which was unlocked, she entered. The spacious classroom was in disarray, with desks and chairs scattered about and some food wrappers on the floor. In the far corner of the classroom, a boy and a girl, both students with flushed faces, hurriedly stood up. Upon seeing Jiang Nan at the door, they both sighed in relief.

"It’s just Jiang Nan, you scared me," said the girl, patting her chest irritably. She wore a black T-shirt and denim miniskirt and had a boyish short haircut, giving her a barely delicately pretty look with somewhat dark circles under her eyes.

"What are you doing here at this time?" asked the boy, sporting dyed yellow hair, looking like a street hoodlum, and wearing a bright-colored leather jacket.

These two were also the first friends Jiang Nan had made upon her arrival.

Jiang Nan walked to her own seat by the window.

"I came to deal with my school records, just thought I’d stop by the class," said Jiang Nan, smiling bashfully, her face flushed. "You guys keep going, I’m leaving." She quickly closed the classroom door and hurried along the corridor toward the staircase.

Ever since she came here, she frequently witnessed such incidents; the students here were far more chaotic than those at her previous school. Fights could escalate to severe injuries, even fatalities. Students had no respect for their elders, regarded their teachers with disdain, and the teachers would teach their own lessons, oblivious to everything else, not caring what happened below. They’d leave as soon as the bell rang, without lingering. Only the class teacher managed a little more, assigning cleaning duties to the students, but ever since an incident where a teacher was seriously injured by a stabbing from a student, the class teacher also dared not discipline the students.

For some reason, every time she saw such intimate scenes, Jiang Nan would think of her cousin Lin Fei.

Ever since she was little, whenever her sister, Jiang Yan, bullied her and her parents never took her side, no matter whether she was in the right, always favoring Jiang Yan, she would cry alone in a corner. The injustices in her heart became unbearable, she even thought ’maybe it would be easier to die quietly in a corner’ - nobody would care, and her parents wouldn’t be heartbroken even if they found out. However, unexpectedly, ever since Lin Fei discovered her crying one time, he would actively seek her out whenever she ran out to cry. Time and time again, year after year, from childhood to adulthood. Lin Fei had unconsciously occupied an important place in Jiang Nan’s heart.

The spacious, chilly teaching building felt cold and discordant with the blazing sun outside.

Jiang Nan fumbled for her phone from the small bag slung around her waist. She had bought it with her own New Year’s money; unlike her sister’s expensive Samsung that cost over five thousand, this one only cost a few hundred. This month’s phone bill would be the last that Jiang Nan would pay. She could earn about 3000 during the two-month holiday, but with tuition and daily expenses combined, money was quite tight. So naturally, she couldn’t use her phone anymore.

She intended to deplete her remaining credit and then forget about it. Right now, the phone was vibrating gently. The caller ID showed the name Xu Qin - a former good friend of hers.

Walking along, Jiang Nan pressed the answer button.

"Hey, Nannan, where are you? Come out and go shopping with us," said Xu Qin, an enthusiastic girl. She and another friend, Nie Xiaoyan, were Jiang Nan’s good friends back at the prestigious school.

"I just went to transfer my records. I’m now at Number Seven Middle School," Jiang Nan said with a smile.

"Number Seven? Why did you transfer there? I heard it’s pretty rough!" Xu Qin sounded concerned.

"It’s okay," Jiang Nan replied noncommittally.

"If you say it’s okay, it’s definitely not okay! I know you too well!" Xu Qin retorted irritably. "And you didn’t even tell us you were transferring, that’s not cool. Alright, as an apology, you have to go shopping with me and Xiaoyan today!"

"Alright then, where are you guys?" Jiang Nan felt a warmth in her heart. She had wondered what her former classmates would think when they heard about her transfer, but Xu Qin’s reaction was really touching. Despite the huge changes in her family situation, Xu Qin remained just as warm as always.

"We’re in front of Qingzhu Jewelry on Dongyuan Street, hurry up! It’s not far from Number Seven. We’ll wait for you!" Xu Qin quickly dictated the address.

"Okay," Jiang Nan calculated the time, which would take about ten minutes. "Find a store nearby to sit down, I’ll be there in about ten minutes."

"See you later."

"Yeah."

After hanging up gently, Jiang Nan’s lips curled into a warm smile. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Shueisha (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and Monthly Tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)