“You are saying that that candidate Xia Fei might have Skywing blood?” Busey sternly asked.
Zanian Feng smiled. “That’s the feeling I got. Do you remember how the Law Enforcement Board has that rather odd old man, Xia Zonghai?”
“Yes, a stubborn fellow who doesn’t care about anything, a typical member of the Skywing bloodline,” Busey answered. From his tone, it was apparent that the Skywing bloodline did not have a very good reputation.
Zanian Feng said, “That day, I secretly went off to take a peek at the assessment and discovered that Xia Fei had quite the unusual aura when he went crazy, and it was rather similar to Elder Xia Zonghai of the Law Enforcement Board. That’s why I began to wonder about his bloodline.
“The same surname Xia and the same aura? It’s too much of a coincidence, right? As for whether or not he’s actually of the Skywing Race, I can’t say. In any case, he’s unreasonable and stubborn enough to be someone from Skywing.”
Busey leaned back and began to think.
“I’ve seen Xia Fei’s résumé. He’s from a small planet in the Alliance called Earth. If he’s of the Skywing bloodline, there would be no reason for him not to live in the White Horse Constellation and certainly no reason for him to go to the little Yu family,” Busey muttered.
Zanian Feng shrugged. “Uncle Busey, it’s not like you don’t know the nature of the Skywing Race. They’ve always been the most unreasonable, capable of doing anything. The entire race, from the old to the young, is crazy and can’t be judged using common sense.”
Busey creased his brows. “That’s true. The Skywings aren’t a major Clan in the circle, but they’re extremely troublesome and can’t be judged using common sense. If Xia Fei is really a member of the Skywings, then this is truly a big problem.”
The two of them fell silent. It was as if the reputation of the Skywings was leaving Busey hesitant, which was very strange. The mighty Dragon Ascension Martial Hall did not fear even the Nine Great Clans, but it was so cautious when it came to the Skywings, which were not even part of the elite circle.
“Zanian, have you told your father about this?” Busey asked.
Zanian Feng shook his head. “He has so many things on his plate that I can’t trouble him over something that hasn’t been confirmed yet.”
Nodding, Busey asked, “Then based on your judgment of the current situation, how would you deal with it?”
Zanian Feng replied, “In a moment of impulse, Senior Nie Ying broke the rules of the martial hall. There’s no way we can conceal this. Meanwhile, no one can tell how Xia Fei managed to control the exotic beasts. If you punish Senior Nie Ying and not punish Xia Fei, Old Nie’s personality won’t let him accept it. If you punish Xia Fei and don’t punish Old Nie, if the Skywings learn of this, it will cause even more trouble.”
Busey nodded, expressing his agreement for Zanian Feng’s words.
“It might be better to just treat the entire thing as a white sheet of paper and turn it over.”
“Turn it over?”
“Yes, render the results of the fourth test invalid and make no attempt to investigate. Treat it as if nothing happened.”
“This…” Busey let out a long sigh. “It truly does seem viable.”
Zanian Feng continued speaking. “As for whether or not Xia Fei is a Skywing, we can just ignore it. In the future assessments, we can just supervise them more strictly. As long as this incident doesn’t repeat itself, everything will be fine.”
Busey stood up and patted Zanian Feng on the shoulder. “Not bad. You’re showing your mother’s intelligence more and more. We’ll do as you proposed.”
…
Early next morning, Xia Fei quietly packed his things and left the Yu family.
Xia Fei did not feel much remorse for killing Patriarch Yu Jiang’s friend. Even if the old master blamed him, it was still better than having Lionheart King Oro’s existence exposed.
When people left, there would naturally be people who came. As Xia Fei departed for the White Horse Constellation, people began to converge on the Yu family from all sides. Last night’s murder case did not cause much of a stir within the clan, and Patriarch Yu Jiang did not express much of a stance. It appeared that Yu Hua having Xia Fei swiftly leave was a little cautious.
At an unremarkable inn in the White Horse Constellation, Xia Fei sat by the window and examined the Blood Crystal under the light of the sun.
The Blood Crystal had become more crystalline and transparent after absorbing the blood of a Law Sovereign, so vividly red that it seemed about to bleed. Under the sunlight, it appeared even more beautiful.
“I want to bask in the sun,” Lionheart King Oro said.
Xia Fei rolled his eyes. “I advise you to stay in the ring obediently. Going out to see the stars last night ended up causing a whole host of problems. If you had been exposed then, it would’ve been bad for the both of us. Thankfully, Yu Hua covered for me, or else the consequences would be disastrous.”
Oro frowned. “That man had an excellent concealment. I was so focused on my thoughts that I didn’t notice his presence. I’ll definitely pay attention next time.”
“You think there’s going to be a next time?” Xia Fei snapped.
Putting away the Blood Crystal, Xia Fei headed off to the Dragon Ascension Martial Hall.
“Xia Fei, where did you go in the last two days?” Ludi came up to meet him, a hint of annoyance on his face. “The fourth assessment’s results were canceled, and everyone’s grades were made zero. You weren’t punished either.”
Xia Fei nodded. This result was rather outside his expectations, but being able to continue in the assessment was a good thing. He knew that the Dragon Ascension Martial Hall was powerful, and if he wanted to advance to the God Race and get close to the Cosmic Gate one day, the Dragon Ascension Martial Hall was undoubtedly his first choice—the path that could get him the closest to his goal.
“It’s nothing for you, but I managed to get a full score, yet it ended up being canceled,” Ludi said in frustration. “I was even bragging to my family. What will I do when the old man finds out?”
Xia Fei ignored Ludi’s chattering. Nothing in life came easy. Xia Fei was the one who had gifted him the full score, but this fellow had taken it as his own luck.
Though the fourth assessment’s results had been nullified, the points from the secret question were still distributed. Xia Fei’s score had been adjusted to twenty points, and while it was not high, it was still not negative. He was now free of the awkwardness that came from being at the very bottom of the list.
After looking at the notice and the results list, Xia Fei planned to leave. He killed Yu Jiang’s friend, and Yu Hua told him to be more inconspicuous for the time being. Xia Fei had taken this advice to heart.
Suddenly, several men in their twenties blocked Xia Fei’s path. Aggressive and domineering, they all had emblems with the word ‘Bright’ emblazoned on them. It seemed that they were members of one of the Nine Great Clans, the Brightsea Clan.
Xia Fei shrugged and tried to go around them. After all, Yu Hua had just told him to be inconspicuous, and he did not want to get into any quarrels.
However, these young men moved to block Xia Fei again. It seemed like they were looking for trouble.
Xia Fei did not move. He coldly passed his eyes over these young men, remembering their faces.
Several of the Brightsea Clan members opened a path, allowing a freckled fellow to swagger over.
Ludi was known as a playboy, and he wore costly handmade clothes which were abnormally bright in color, and he even sported a golden snake accessory on his belt as well as an opal chain on his wrist. When he walked on the streets, he would often get looks from the young ladies.
However, when compared to this freckled man, Ludi suddenly seemed much less bright, his opal chain less dazzling, and his little golden snake accessory rather ugly.
There was not even a need to talk about Xia Fei, who usually wore simple attire. The freckled man was bedecked with glittering jewels, such that wealthy ladies would probably vomit blood with envy. He flashed under the sunlight as if he was afraid that others would not know how rich he was. That ring of veined jade on his left hand alone was worth ten thousand grade 4 crystals!
It was a good thing that he was from the Brightsea Clan. If he had been from some minor house, someone probably would have marked him already.
“You’re Xia Fei?” The freckled young man placed his hands behind his back as he ambiguously asked him.
Xia Fei lightly nodded. He had always been a bit of a hooligan, and even when he was standing in front of a scion in his cheapest exercise clothes, he would not feel the slightest bit awkward.
Xia Fei’s relaxed and laid-back personality angered this young man standing across him. The latter felt that the poor should be meek, yet Xia Fei clearly did not understand his poverty. There was even a hint of scorn on his lips, as if he was looking down on the latter..
“Miss Fuping of the Mu family isn’t an existence at your level. If you know discretion, stay away from her,” the freckled man said to Xia Fei, attempting to suppress his disgust for the latter.
“Mu Fuping?” Xia Fei asked.
“You actually dare to utter Miss Fuping directly by her name?” the freckled man angrily asked.
“If you can’t call someone by their name, why even have a name in the first place?”
“You!” The freckled man was furious, but he continued to restrain himself, telling himself to maintain his composure. After all, he was from one of the Nine Great Clans, and he could not allow himself to be angered by some small fry like Xia Fei.
“In any case, remember that she’s a member of the Nine Great Clans, not something someone as insignificant as you can get close to. The Yu family? If I make the call, even their patriarch must bow his head to me! Take a good look at the emblem on my chest!”
Saying this, the freckled man turned to leave. Today was very strange. He was superior in both background and wealth to Xia Fei, yet in front of the latter, he still felt like he was a beggar. Xia Fei’s attitude, which did not seem to care for anyone, was like something innately imprinted to his very bones, and it was very hard for others to imitate it.
“I forgot,” Xia Fei softly said.
The freckled man turned around and stared in disbelief at Xia Fei, his face pale.
“Say that again?”
“I forgot whatever it was that you said moments ago,” Xia Fei said, making sure to pronounce every word clearly.
Whispering and soft chuckles came from the surrounding crowd. There were quite a few candidates gathered in front of Dragon Ascension Martial Hall to look at the list. These warriors from minor clans did not even dare to breathe too loudly in front of the Nine Great Clans, but Xia Fei retorted in the most disrespectful fashion, and that garnered a glance from everyone.
The kindhearted worried for Xia Fei, but even more of them felt excited to see someone else suffering. Nothing good would come from provoking a member of the Nine Great Clans, especially for someone like Xia Fei who did not have any backing.
Phantom covered his face and sighed. He was well aware that Xia Fei’s personality was like a spring. The stronger one pressed him down, the harder that indelible streak of stubbornness would bounce back.
A young man in white watched from a distance, his eyes flashing. He was none other than Zanian Feng, the youngest son of the Dragon Ascension Martial Hall’s master. Zanian Feng seemed to be very satisfied with Xia Fei’s performance, mumbling, “Similar, truly too similar.”
The giggling and chuckling from the crowd was ear-splitting, and it sounded like they were mocking to the freckled young man.
*Whoosh!*
A silver knife appeared in his hand, its tip pointed at Xia Fei’s throat. The freckled man swallowed and sternly said, “Say it again and die!”
Xia Fei’s lips curved upward, and then he opened his mouth. At the same time, his left hand began to move toward his spatial ring.
“No! He’s a member of one of the Nine Great Clans!” Phantom shouted.
No one understood more than him that when Xia Fei struck, it was always with lethality!
