The contest was still ongoing, though this completely overwhelming advantage meant that it was no longer accurate to call this a contest; it was more like Xia Fei was holding a class for Hyacinth, a very simple and vivid class on observation and analysis.
If Phantom were present, he would surely complain about Xia Fei bullying these people. He was a practitioner of ocular cognition, where even a fly would not be able to escape Xia Fei’s sharp gaze when used. As the last inheritor of the Beast Spirit Codex, it was simply unfair for Xia Fei to challenge Hyacinth to this contest.
However, Xia Fei was not the sort that would have reservation because of this. The poor must be brave enough to seek victory, and what was started must be seen through till the end; Now was not the time to be complacent. He had already made the decision to give it his all, to ruin the last bit of confidence Hyacinth had completely and utterly!
“Are you ready? Because now it should be my turn,” Xia Fei simply said with an arched brow.
Hyacinth’s expression changed again. He had lost two rounds by now, and he would still have lost even if the next contest did not continue, so it would hardly affect the final outcome.
Slightly opening his mouth, Hyacinth had no wish to continue this contest and wanted to admit defeat.
“You’ll at least be able to save some face,” his father softly whispered to his ear.
Hyacinth froze slightly. Next would be for Xia Fei to set up his ruse, which he would attempt to see through. His father was right; if he could see through Xia Fei’s impersonation like what the latter had just done, it would not be considered a complete loss and he would at least be able to save himself some face.
Xia Fei’s observational skills were superb, but Hyacinth’s own was not to be scoffed at, either. After all, he was an impersonator, and both disguise and the exposing of a disguise were both compulsory courses he had learned ever since he was young. It was very surprising to see that an outsider like Xia Fei could have such a high level of observation and analytical skills, but surely he would be incapable of serving up an impeccable disguise, would he? That would be far too overpowered!
Just like that, Hyacinth grasped onto this final sliver of life-saving medicine and slightly nodded, his voice stern. “Brother Ah Fei, you may begin. Go prepare over by the wooden bridge; I swear upon my honor that I won’t sneak a peek.”
The somber atmosphere continued, as several members of Hyacinth walked over to the bridge, hoping that they could be of help in this final round. All of them knew that their impersonation had already been seen through, so if they failed to do the same to Xia Fei’s disguise, then they would truly have lost every bit of pride.
There was strength in numbers, and the organization had over a hundred pairs of trained eyes. No matter how amazing Xia Fei’s impersonation attempt could be, there was no way that it could not be exposed!
A human would face plenty of major challenges in life. Everyone hoped to help this final round and earn back a bit of face for Hyacinth.
Xia Fei chuckled. “There’s no need. My disguise needs only a handful of seconds.”
*Kaboom*
Just as he finished saying his words, a thick, black smoke rose from the bridge, which instantly surrounded Xia Fei!
“I’ll tell you this: The Holy Beast Shatterstar will be my impersonation; if you can’t even tell us apart…”
Xia Fei’s voice could be heard coming out from the smoke, and Hyacinth’s forehead sweated profusely. Xia Fei had very clearly told him that he would be using Furball to disguise himself, which was like giving an opponent a handicap. Losing now would really be an utter disgrace to the Hyacinth name!
Everyone held their breath and stared forward.
*Bang*
The black smoke suddenly dissipated, and there were now two Xia Fei standing on the bridge!
Every pair of eyes widened!
What was it to be exactly the same?
This was it!
These Xia Feis were practically two peas in the same pod; there was not even a slight difference between the two!
The impersonation skill was actually an extension of the Law of Matter. The Law of Matter’s creation ability could be used to mimic another. Even experts like Hyacinth and Otter needed several dozens of minutes to prepare. After all, the utilization of the Law of Matter would expend some energy, and the detailed adjustments would take plenty of time.
Just now, Hyacinth and Otter had both spent almost a good half an hour before they stepped out for the reveal, yet Xia Fei’s disguise only took him a few seconds!
This was a huge disparity, and it appeared that Xia Fei’s disguise was no worse than what Hyacinth had achieved. It could even be a more detailed rendition!
Just from the preparation time alone, the Exiled Grounds’ number-one master of impersonation, Hyacinth had suffered a complete defeat!
Everyone was just flabbergasted, holding their breath as their stars turned vacant.
This was the first time they had all witnessed such a detailed impersonation!
Lionheart Emperor Oro, who had not spoken for the longest time, sighed. “You’re really too much of a bully. Hyacinth used an impersonation technique, yet you used a cloning technique. The two of you are hardly even on the same level.”
“Impersonation focuses on a physical transformation, to change the user into someone else. The cloning technique you did is a mirror image, projecting a copy of yourself into someone else; there’s not even a millimeter of difference to be found, and every slightest detail is properly copied. I’d be the first to yell ‘ghost’ if anyone in this group of people could discover any difference at all.”
Xia Fei was unperturbed. “This is a contest that they agreed to. I didn’t even force them at knife point.”
Oro laughed. “You’re right. These people have all been tricked by you without even realizing it. No matter how amazing a cloning technique is, there’s no way for you to impersonate anyone but yourself. They just have no idea how powerful cloning techniques are, so of course they’re bound to lose.”
They were only given three minutes, and with every second that ticked past, the whole lot slowly felt their surprise turn into uneasiness.
“Energy! Examine both their energy; Ah Fei used an exotic beast to be his impersonator, so there must be a difference in terms of their energy signatures. As long as we can sense their energy composition, we will surely be able to crack this!”
Sure enough, several experts who were adept at examining energy immediately began screening the two Xia Fei’s for irregularity.
“They’re the same. Exactly the same!”
“No way… Look closely. How could a human share the same energy composition as an exotic beast?!”
“It really is the same. There’s not any difference at all.”
Everyone was shocked once more. The exact same energy composition? This was far too implausible!
Impersonating a different lifeform was the hardest hurdle any impersonator had to overcome. This was especially true for exotic beasts and sapient lifeforms, of which the difference was heaven and earth! Truly, no one had a clue just how Xia Fei had been able to bridge this gap.
Xia Fei found this to be quite hilarious deep down. The reason why he could act so arrogantly was obviously because he had something to rely on. The cloning technique, Delusion, was not like other cloning techniques that could project several or even dozens of other clones, but it was capable of allowing energy to be transfused between user and clone! That was the most amazing aspect of Delusion!
Furball’s energy had been absorbed into Xia Fei’s body, while Xia Fei could also provide his energy to Furball. That was why everyone saw the same energy composition in both Furball and Xia Fei. The two of them were presently exchanging energies!
“Don’t panic. If we can’t surmise through energy screening ,then we can try through smell. Exotic beasts and humans both have different scents!”
“That’s right. He used his sense of smell to differentiate Elder Otter and Brother Hyacinth; we can do the same as well!”
Three members of the organization with the most sensitive noses came over and sniffed at Xia Feis.
“I smell nothing! Absolutely nothing!”
“That’s impossible. Ah Fei enjoys smoking a peculiar smoke. How could there be no smell on him at all?!”
Xia Fei chuckled. There was definitely usually a light scent of tobacco on him, but he was currently using Breath Control! There would be no smell in a radius of one hundred meter around him, and he would also appear insignificant.
His Breath Control technique was even more brilliant than Hyacinth’s Universal Spring Flourish, and Xia Fei was well practiced with this ultimate technique from the Assassin Sect. He had even further improved upon it, breaking away from the original configuration and turning it into a brand new stealth technique! Only a fool would dream of identifying Xia Fei and Furball through the sense of smell alone!
*Thump*
A tall impersonator pulled out heavy equipment from his spatial ring, looking like a shoulder mounted bazooka as he pointed it at Xia Fei and Furball from a good distance.
“We don’t have much time left. Let me use the ray analyzer!”
“That’s a good idea! That will surely work!”
“A human and an exotic beast will reveal a different color when scanned by the analyzer! I refuse to believe that he’s able to completely change even his body constitution!”
Everyone was invigorated, all of them approving this sort of precision instrument which sought to stay in a laboratory.
Xia Fei pouted. Hyacinth’s ugliness was really on full display at the moment, even pulling out instruments that belonged in a laboratory. It looked like this organization, which was so-called the greatest impersonators in Exiled Grounds, was already in a state where they were completely out of options.
However, Xia Fei was not in the least bit concerned. Furball was his clone, meaning that every single cell on him was exactly the same. Even the most accurate precision instrument would be unable to see through this impersonation.
“ENOUGH!” Hyacinth bellowed with a stern expression on his face.
These juniors were all stunned, not knowing just why he had stopped everyone.
“Is none of you content with how embarrassing you all are acting right now? Esteemed impersonators who actually have to rely on instruments so that they can tell real from fake. If word of this gets out, all Purple Blood Rockies will be too ashamed to face anyone anymore! None of you may want your dignity, but I do!” Hyacinth was fuming, chiding these people behind him without any restraint.
All of them lowered their heads, wordless.
“Why don’t we just take a wild guess?” The tall man, who had pulled out the ray analyzer, appeared not to be very bright, but even he felt awkward as he suggested this, scratching his head as he spoke.
The veins on Hyacinth’s forehead nearly popped out when he heard this, shuddering all over so much that he nearly fainted from the anger he was feeling.
“Are you so keen on humiliating ourselves even further? Okay, okay, okay…”
After saying the word ‘okay’ thrice, Hyacinth could feel his throat seize. He then said the words that were stuck in his gullet that he had trouble uttering.
“We lost.”
His voice was filled with such sadness. It was two simple words, yet the meaning behind them weighed heavily!
Hyacinth, who had been flawless for the last twenty five years, finally lost. Furthermore, they had lost to an outsider like Xia Fei! This was truly what made it the toughest truth to accept!
…
An awkward silence permeated the air for quite a while. Xia Fei was silent. Ultimately, he still needed Hyacinth and his men to help him do certain things, so he could not possibly kill them here and now, could he?
Since Hyacinth was satisfied with this loss, it should be time for their reward. The carrot and the stick motivator was an approach that worked everywhere, after all.
“Master, you’re really amazing! Just what sort of method did you do that allowed you to create another you, and you even suppressed your presence completely!” Seth excitedly exclaimed. Seth was showering his master with utter admiration and praise, and his success over Hyacinth and the organization’s reputation as being undefeated twenty-five years only made him even more pleased. It was as if he was the one who had won, puffing his chest out in pride.
Hyacinth and the others were also listening intently, wanting to know just what Xia Fei intended to do at this point.
With a smile, Xia Fei had just prepared himself an impassioned speech to make them completely yield to him so that he could better assign them to do his bidding.
However, this was when an urgent alarm blared, which caused Xia Fei to swallow the words that he had long prepared.
*Beep beep beep beep!*
The alarm sounded more and more pressing. The communicators that every member was holding were all making a din! The entire bamboo forest descended into chaos!
