Early in the morning, before the morning mist had yet to part and the crisp air still carried the mild coolness, Ulan sent Xia Fei off from outside of the city.
“This will be an arduous trip for you. I know Fuchen has taught you the trick to keep your cultivation hidden. You’re very well-versed when it comes to your own energy perception, and others will hardly spare you another glance in most circumstances, but this world is vast, and experts are plenty. You mustn’t let down your guard for even a moment, and if it’s not the right time, come back quickly. At worst, we’ll not risk our lives for that old monster Fuchen’s wishes. There’s no sense of us throwing our lives away here like that,” Ulan lectured him sincerely.
Xia Fei smiled. “Relax. There’s no such thing as immortal souls among the Unrestricteds, so why would someone as afraid to die as me not act cautiously?”
The more Xia Fei said this, the more Ulan could see the persistent nature in his heart. It was not wrong to call Xia Fei ruthless and black-hearted, but that was only when he was dealing with his enemies; he would become a completely opposite person when dealing with those he called friends. Ulan was afraid of Xia Fei’s temper, which would disregard even his close relatives when angered, and that he just might kill everyone that he disliked from the Unrestricted Sect once he climbed up Spirit Mountain. That would be terrible!
No matter the case, Xia Fei was definitely making a trip up Spirit Mountain, and there was no way Ulan could convince him otherwise. Ulan only let Xia Fei go after he spent what seemed like half a day instructing him.
*Whoosh*
Like a bolt of lightning, Xia Fei sprinted toward the foot of the mountain. He arrived a little early at the meeting place that they had determined, so Xia Fei lit himself a cigarette and idled by a lake.
“You seem different today,” Radix suddenly spoke up.
Xia Fei asked, “Why are you as naggy as Ulan? What’s different about me?”
Radix shook his head, “I can’t quite put my finger on it. Ever since you received Fuchen’s letter, you’ve been pondering all this while, contemplating. But you were different after last night. It was almost as though you had thought something through.”
Xia Feir threw the question back at him, “Isn’t it good that I’ve thought things through?”
“That’s true for others, but it’s the exact opposite for you! Only the gods know just what crazy idea you have come up with!” Radix sulked.
Xia Fei laughed wordlessly. He cleverly stowed his half-lit cigarette in hand and said, “Someone’s coming. Hide well.”
A group of men soon appeared from the side of the river. They were all dressed like laborers, but carried no tools on them, which indicated that they had spatial rings, and so were considered much more affluent than your usual commoners.
“Are you the sculptor that’s replacing Pang San?” the fat middle-aged man shouted from a distance.
Xia Fei quickly jogged up and answered, “That’s right. I’m Pang Xiao Fei,a distant relative of Pang Duyi.”
The fat man turned his head around, “Xu Manzi. Give him clothes to change into. All of us need to keep our wits about us when we enter Spirit Mountain, and make sure you identify who are your own comrades. Though it is against the rules for us to bring an outsider up the mountain, we can’t do anything about the fact that Long San suddenly became ill. After all, we can’t just carry on without a sculptor, right? If we fail to accomplish the work we have up the mountain in time, we will be in deep trouble.”
…
Someone quickly brought a uniform for Xia Fei to change into, and Xia Fei followed the group of men on their way up the mountain.
Xia Fei had very discerning eyes and was quite the talker. Adding to the fact that he had an affable smile, he very quickly became fast friends with the laborers.
“Ergou, my uncle only asked me to substitute for him for work, but he didn’t tell me what we’d be doing. Is the money good?” Xia Fei asked in a low voice.
Kong Ergou shook his head, “It’s good money, but it’s not easily earned. A group of Spiritualists lives up on this mountain. It will soon be the anniversary when their ancestral grandmaster first established the mountain, so they ought to commemorate that day a bit. In the past, we’d go up the mountain every year and clean their courtyards, making repairs on what needed them. These Spiritualists are rich, and are generous to boot. It’s a very decent job, and we’re the closest laborers here on this planet. We practically depend on this day to make our living.
“Later, for some unknown reason, the original sectmaster that was always all smiles left, and now, the people in charge are just sterner than the last. While the money stayed the same, there are now more and more issues. Anything we do poorly will result in quite the tongue-lashing, even…”
Seeing Ergou’s voice trail off, Xia Fei asked urgently, “death?”
Ergou had a terrible expression on his face and whispered back, “What do you think the reason is that our leader Fatty Jin let you join our team so easily? We are indeed shorthanded, just last year alone we lost half our men!”
Xia Fei frowned. He had not even entered the Unrestricted Sect’s territory, and Xia Fei was already forming a bad impression of them. The Skywing Clan was tyrannical, but they had never bullied commoners, much less killed them!
…
Arriving before the gatehouse, the team stopped and waited for someone to come receive them.
Xia Fei looked up and saw the glorious inscribed board that represented the Unrestricteds, muttering to himself, “Why is it that the longer I look at those words, the more I despise them…?”
…
Fuchen was in tears!
Half his body was submerged in sea water as he faced the craggy wall of a cave, crying loudly like a child. It was a horrible sight.
“So you’ve already thought it through?” an aged voice echoed from deeper in the cave.
*Whoosh*
Fuchen wiped away his tears and revealed an easy smile, responding loudly, “Yes, I’ve already thought things through!”
“Then why did you just cry?” that same old voice asked again.
“I wanted to cry, so I did. I don’t need to tell you the reason,” Fuchen replied.
“Oh, it looks like you indeed have some matters that you still can’t let go of. It was really hard to get you to cry in the past, since you’d just endure no matter how big a problem you ended up facing,” the old voice commented somewhat happily.
“But that does not mean you’ve thought things through. It only means you’ve finally set aside some burdens you didn’t need to bear. Trying to promote yourself to an Annihilator with just that will be very tough.”
Fuchen remarked, “Honestly, I don’t care if I succeed in my promotion or not. All I want is to retrieve that thing my master left with you.”
The voice wavered slightly as it answered, “I can give it to you, but you must prove that you’re worthy of it. And since you’ve already lost all your powers, you can’t use it, even if I give it to you.”
Fuchen answered, “That is why I’m here to make a trade with you.”
“A trade, you say?” That voice laughed. “Interested. You dare ask for a trade with this old monster? Are you unafraid that I’ll take your life?”
Fuchen had a serious expression on his face as he answered, “My master once said that some people may seem cute, but their hearts are frightening. Conversely, some people may look scary, when really they have a loveable heart. You belong to the latter, and I believe in my master.”
A boisterous laughter thundered from that old voice, “Alright! It’s not often I come across someone who isn’t afraid of me, and is also a disciple of someone I once knew. I can give you what you want, but you might not be able to give me what I want in return for it.”
“Speak,” Fuchen replied simply.
“I want a good show,” that old voice rasped excitedly.
“What show?” Fuchen asked in alarm.
“I like to see others use their blades, and there is one such person among those that you know who has a very fun blade. I would like for him to use it and challenge the Ten Famed Swords.”
Fuchen was startled and exclaimed, “Do you mean Xia Fei?! How do you know about him?”
That old voice drawled calmly, “I originally had no idea of his existence, but I learned of him after he managed to earn the title of a Devil Shadow Dragoon.”
“Xia Fei has become a Devil Shadow Dragoon?!” Fuchen was himself surprised to learn of that, but he very quickly shook his head, “Oh dear. Since Xia Fei is a Dragoon, then that would mean that his capabilities are far greater than I had imagined, and I’ve asked him to take over the Unrestricted Sect. This…”
That old voice from deep inside the cave rumbled, “See, you’re still unable to let go!”
Fuchen argued his case, “Xia Fei is very clever, and will not go into a fight without preparations. I left the Golden Seal for him, in hopes that he would one day take over the Unrestricted Sect, not right now. I originally felt that if he realized he lacked the strength, not only would he not be in a rush to charge up Spirit Mountain, he would instead work harder for the goals I’ve set for him. But it’s different if he’s a Dragoon. Perhaps he has already stormed his way into the Spirit Mountain by now!”
Turning his head around, Fuchen muttered, “No good. This will cause serious losses on both sides. I need to hurry back. Plus, I can’t agree to let Xia Fei challenge any one of the Ten Famed Swords with Nirvana. It still doesn’t have the ability right now.”
That old voice coughed drily several times before saying, “First, you won’t ever find me again after you leave. Second, while Nirvana lacks the ability to challenge the Ten Famed Swords, that does not mean it won’t be able to in the future.”
“But…” Fuchen was hesitant.
“No buts. Either you stay, or you never come back. Besides, given your current state, what use is it for you to head back? Your master’s right; you have too many things in your heart, so it is no wonder you stagnated as a Peak Founder for so many years. It’s all because you don’t understand the true meaning of becoming an Annihilator!” It was the first time the old voice had spoken at such length in one go.
Meanwhile, Fuchen remained in the seawater, unable to make a decision.
“Xia Fei will surely be causing a ruckus,” Fuchen said to himself uneasily.
…
Fuchen had truly wronged Xia Fei. He had thought that if Xia Fei was not stirring up trouble in his life, then he would be walking down the road that led to trouble, when really, Xia Fei was just cleaning up a courtyard.
It was going to be the anniversary of the day when the forebears of the Unrestricteds first established their sect soon, so they had sought out a team of laborers from below the mountain to tidy up the place and make repairs to the old structures around.
In the Alpha Universe, the older the building, the better it was!
Only by looking old enough could it then join the long and storied history that the sect had been through, which was why there were countless clans out there who still lived in those old-fashioned, ancient buildings. They were very dismissive of high-tech buildings, as it was only poor people who lived in such places here in the Alpha Universe!
Xia Fei was now Pang Xiaolong, a sculptor with the team who specialized in the restoration of the damage some of these old-fashioned sculptures and carvings had weathered.
The Unrestricteds did not allow these laborers to live on the mountain, so early every morning they would gather by the gatehouse entrance and take a dedicated transport that would ferry them up, and then send them back down the mountain at night.
Such a style of work was not beneficial to Xia Fei, because there would be many eyes during the day and Xia Fei would be busy with his work, so he rarely had any chance to eavesdrop on the conversations others were having, or even get anywhere near the buildings that Xia Fei was most intrigued by.
Instead, it was Ulan who was very happy with the circumstances. To him, the most important thing was for no accidents to befall Xia Fei, and as for Fuchen’s favor, he was of the belief that if they truly could not do it, then it was fine if they temporarily shelved the idea.
At present, there were three people managing the sect. Aside from Fuchen’s two despicable disciples, Basalt and Ling Xing, there was also Fuchen’s elder sect brother, Hei Wuji!
Rumors were one thing, and seeing was believing; Xia Fei needed to see the three strongest warriors in the sect with his own eyes before he could figure out just what was going on with the sect, and how best for him to strike.
…
On the third night, Ulan was waiting outside the city for Xia Fei. He was very happy, walking up to pat Xia Fei on his shoulder, “We’ve already agreed that three days is the limit. Now that you’ve already returned, why don’t we just go head on back tonight? Fuchen’s decision here is far too crazy, and it isn’t that we can’t help him, but we lack the means to do so.”
*Zing*
The expression on Ulan’s entire face twisted instantly, because Xia Fei had turned into the annoying Furball after he clapped him on the back!
“Crap! This is his substitution technique!” Ulan’s voice cracked.
