“Who are you people? To think that you dared to make a move against the Fufeng Clan’s Colorless Sky Cow?!” That warrior raised one hand to Wistplume and coldly asked this.
Wistplume yelled her response almost immediately. “This old lady doesn’t care who you are! In any case, I’m going to take the head of this exotic beast and complete my task! If you dare to get in my way, then you shall die at this old lady’s hands!”
Wistplume acted very domineeringly, assuming seniority by calling herself an old lady while speaking in an uncouth manner. That person from the Fufeng Clan had actually been piqued when he heard her; Xia Fei could even tell that the person’s graceful and fair face had already turned purple!
Radix noticed how thrilled Xia Fei had gotten; he even muttered, “A talent! To think that there’d be a person of such caliber in the Aurora Clan!”
Radix was unamused. Xia Fei would apparently only be satisfied if every member of the Aurora Clan was like Wistplume.
At the end of the day, the Aurora Clan was a legacy clan that had thousands of years of history. Its great reputation had always been geared more toward knowledge and wisdom, so if everyone became as barbaric and unreasonable as Wistplume, just how would they give an account to their ancestors?
Minute chemical reaction abruptly took place the moment Wistplume began using foul language, and the four warriors beside her pulled out their own weapons without missing a beat and positioned themselves around Wistplume; as long as she gave the order, these men would pounce on their enemy without hesitation.
“That’s strange. Wistplume is behaving so savagely; why are these clansmen of hers still protecting her?” Radix asked, puzzled.
Xia Fei chuckled. “That’s what it means to have charisma. Just moments ago, Wistplume sacrificed her arm to save her comrade, and everyone saw that. Their hearts have already been completely convinced by her action. This is what it was like to devote themselves willingly to their confidant. Hot-bloodedness is the very lifeblood of warriors. It’s just that the Aurora Clan has focused its studies on civility and education, burying the hot-bloodedness of its warriors, but some things can’t be hidden away forever. When given the right opportunity, these warriors’ inert hotbloodedness will surely resurface.”
Hearing Xia Fei’s words, Radix felt that it made a lot of sense. Xia Fei had never asked to be a leader, but everyone gradually accepted him as one precisely because Xia Fei was good to his people, and he was willing to put his life on the line for them! All these various benefits far outweighed the brutality he showed toward his enemy.
This was why, even with Xia Fei’s extreme personality, most people were willing to accept him. After all, his crazy side would only be shown to his enemies, and this was what made Wistplume very alike to Xia Fei.
“Remember: My name is Feng Jianbo, and this is the Fufeng Clan’s territory! I’m going to kill all of you now in the name of my clan!” Young Master Jianbo of Fufeng Clan declared grimly.
“Fufeng?! ‘Facing collapse, the wind shall assist’, that Fufeng Clan?!”
The Aurora warriors began to waver, but while they had been affected by mention of the Fufeng name, Wistplume showed no change. She was still glaring at Feng Jianbo. Of course, the lack of expression could also be due to Wistplume’s face being too black to notice any difference in the first place.
Xia Fei had checked the data on the Fufeng Clan before. Whereas the Aurora Clan was part of Chaos Society, Fufeng Clan belonged to a major organization called The Grandflame.
Apparently, the various major forces of the Alpha Universe had broken apart and even gone to wage a devastating war against one another. Because The Grandflame’s power was insufficient, they had nearly been wiped out by the others. However, right at the critical juncture, the originally independent Fufeng Clan joined The Grandflame, and they survived the catastrophic war, which had lasted thousands of years.
As such, the saying ‘Facing collapse, the wind shall assist’ came to be. This ascribed to how the Fufeng Clan had aided in The Grandflame’s continued survival.
In the Alpha Universe, the Fufengs were not considered a top-rate clan and were still a little ways off compared to major clans such as the Venus of Eternal Night, but their reputation preceded them, far more so than the humble Aurora gentlemen.
This was why when Feng Jianbo shouted his family name, the Aurorean all began to hesitate. After all, in terms of strength, the Fufengs could be considered giants, while the Aurorean, who had always been taught to be kind to others, forget about offending powerful entities like the Fufengs, they might not even be allowed to harm a passing kitten or a puppy.
Unfortunately, these warriors were out with Xia Fei right now. Never in their wildest imagination did they imagine that they were actually in the Fufeng Clan’s territory! Xia Fei had misled them into joining him in his raid of the Fufeng Clan!
“Wistplume, what do we do now?” an Aurorean asked.
“What else can we do? Accomplish our task, of course. No need to think about anything else!” Wistplume ordered.
Just as those words left her lips, Feng Jianbo made a sudden assault. He could already tell that Wistplume was the leader of these men, so as long as he could get rid of the loudmouthed woman, the others would naturally scatter. Though Feng Jianbo had revealed his identity, he was still afraid of going up against the enemy with their numerical superiority, afraid that he might be unable to deal with them all.
*Whoosh*
With a lift of his palm, a sneaky light shot out from Feng Jianbo’s wrist and flew straight at Wistplume.
The speed of this move was so quick that Wistplume had hardly been able to take any precaution against it.
This was when Xia Fei came rushing from the side. With a lithe step, he successfully tugged Wistplume to the left, so that light merely tore her armor, only scratching her large frame as it passed.
“That was close!” Wistplume gasped in shock. She pointed at Feng Jianbo’s face and chided, “To think you’d call yourself a Fufeng clansman. You actually employed such despicable means like a sneak attack!”
Xia Fei could not help but shake his head. Though Wistplume was much stronger than the other Aurorean, the influence of the clan on her was still deep, actually having the notion that combat must be clean and fair.
“No need to reprimand him. He’s already dead,” Xia Fei replied nonchalantly.
“Dead?!”
“How’s it possible?!”
“I didn’t see anyone make any move at all!”
This was when, under everyone’s astonished gazes, Feng Jianbo’s body split right down the middle. The fiendish blade Nirvana, controlled by Radix, was behind him. Meanwhile, the Colorless Sky Cow looked like it had died, too, after Furball took a huge bite out of its neck.
Everyone was flabbergasted. Just what an awesome display of crazy speed, both in action and movement, that was! Their attention had been drawn completely to Xia Fei saving Wistplume that none of them had seen Nirvana and Furball execute their sneak attacks!
Just as Feng Jianbo launched a sneak attack on Wistplume, Xia Fei actually launched his sneak attack on Feng Jianbo. Everyone only saw the result, but the entire process was a complete mystery!
“Remember: This is what a real sneak attack looks like,” Xia Fei faced these dumbfounded warriors and said genially as he lit a cigarette.
…
Very soon, the people who had been left at the Silver Specter arrived at the scene.
Those warriors who had managed to escape from Feng Jianbo’s clutches described animatedly how Xia Fei finished off the enemy like a ghost, to the point that none of them saw how he had done it.
“Well, none of these people were originally too convinced, but after what you did, I’m sure that no one will ever underestimate you from today on,” Fuchen said.
…
Xia Fei laughed. “Actually, assassination techniques were what I learned when I first started down the warrior’s path. It’s just that the level of fights I get into and the adversaries I face as I progress higher and higher also become stronger and stronger. Sneak attacks like these have become much harder to execute, which is why I no longer resort to such things nowadays.
“Today, I guess that that person who went by the name of Feng Jianbo got unlucky. The most dangerous isn’t the enemy in front but rather the one unseen. The most dangerous opening isn’t when waiting in cover, but the moment when someone attacks. This young man was clearly an amateur; any true killer will always leave themselves a means of escape when attempting a sneak attack. He failed to do just that, so he lost his life as a result.”
Fuchen and Ulan nodded. Xia Fei, who was considered an expert when it came to assassination, was the most adept at grasping the perfect timing. No matter how insignificant a flaw was, the moment Xia Fei could identify it, he would be sure to fatally exploit it.
Xia Fei waved his hand to call Wistplume to his side and gave her some medication for treating her wounds. She looked rather sullen because she would have fallen prey to Feng Jianbo’s assassination had Xia Fei not intervened moments ago, and this thought sat unpleasantly in her mind.
“You performed well today. You saved your comrade at a critical moment, and you did not back down an inch even in the face of a strong foe. These are all very rare traits,” Xia Fei commended.
However, he quickly changed the line of conversation. “Still, you must remember: It is not the gallant who will always emerge victorious on the battlefield. Sneak attacks and schemes, as long as they can be employed, there won’t be problems with resorting to them. Just because you don’t sneak attack your opponent doesn’t mean that they won’t.”
Xia Fei was a measured man. He naturally had no wish to suppress a talent like Wistplume. Given the natural wildness inside her, he firmly believed that she could become a decent warrior if she was given the chance to experience more combat.
“I plan to let Wistplume be in charge of these warriors,” Xia Fei said as he watched her leave.
Fuchen laughed. “You’ve got quite the eye. That woman’s far stronger than most of the men in the Aurora Clan and at the least isn’t hypocritical.”
Radix was slightly taken aback as he hesitantly mentioned, “I heard that Wistplume does not have too good an origin. Don’t you think that letting her take command is kinda appropriate?”
Xia Fei rolled his eyes at Radix, disregarding his comment. “Who cares about her origin? I’ve seen plenty of people of good origin who aren’t any better. I wouldn’t bother to use her if it were just her background.”
Xia Fei had always been opposed to the belief that a person’s pedigree dictated their success as a warrior. To him, being a warrior had nothing to do with one’s heart and mind. What truly mattered was whether they were crazy or vicious enough! It could not be helped, for only the most paranoid and the craziest had the hope of living long in this universe. Those who usually died were just not crazy enough.
This was when Furball came running to Xia Fei with that strange beast in his mouth, fawning over at him. This pet was too cunning. He used his body to rub on Xia Fei’s calf, then placed his prey on the ground, and looked pitifully at Xia Fei, acting all cute. It was as if he wanted to be rewarded.
Furball had learned early on that Xia Fei responded better to placation rather than coercion. It could not be helped, for Xia Fei was the unreasonable sort; Furball would end up being kicked aside if he acted too desperately, but if he instead acted pitiful, Xia Fei would be helpless toward his demands.
“Fine, I get it.” Xia Fei smiled as he patted Furball’s head.
He picked up that Colorless Sky Cow from the ground and said, “This is definitely not an exotic beast, but it doesn’t seem like a Divine Beast, either. Any of you recognize this thing?”
Fuchen and Ulan stared at it for a good long while, and then astonishment appeared on their faces.
Fuchen asked, “That thing’s anything but simple. How did you end up killing it?”
“It’s an enemy,” Xia Fei stated matter-of-factly. In his mind, the word ‘enemy’ explained everything. Any enemy that crossed his path could only die.
Ulan stroked his chin. “What a strange beast. It looked very high level, and its brain was developed enough. Wait… Look!”
Xia Fei looked at where Ulan was pointing and saw a miniscule bite mark left on the Colorless Sky Cow’s neck, exactly where Furball had bitten it.
Furball normally had no teeth, but when it was enraged, a row of diamond-hard teeth would grow on its mouth.
Xia Fei was well aware that when Furball went wild, his teeth were more than capable of biting through steel! Nothing could resist his biting force!
However, the skin of this Colorless Skycow was actually even tougher, able to withstand the full force of Furball’s bite, leaving just the slightest trace of teeth imprint! Just how tough was its skin?!
While the three of them were feeling astounded by what they had just discovered, someone reported that they had spotted a cave.
“A cave? What’s so shocking about that?” Xia Fei thought nothing of it. “Who knew how many hundreds and thousands of caves there are on a planet? There’s nothing surprising about it.”
“No, this cave is very strange. It seems to be a cultivation spot of the Fufeng Clan”
