Cultivation Chamber. Xia Fei was drenched in sweat.
It had been a very long time since he last did such a hearty bout of speed training. As a warrior dabbling across many different fields, Xia Fei had adopted an assault-style approach toward his cultivation: He would first set himself a goal, and in the shortest amount of time possible, divert all his resources into making a breakthrough.
From the various laws to his Soul Mark, which represented dark energy, only the Law of Speed, the most difficult and heaven-defying law power, had been put off by him for the longest time.
The next step forward would mean Peak Law of Speed, with a top speed of sixty million meters per second! Alas, the difficulty of this final step was truly insane, and Xia Fei had already forgotten how long he had been stalled at this threshold.
Aside from the grand ancestor, Xia Gucheng, Xia Fei had yet to meet a second individual who had achieved complete mastery of the Law of Speed, and this was enough evidence to see just how difficult the Law of Speed was.
The Skywing Clan had their unique training method, and this method, on top of Xia Fei’s superhuman capability toward energy, took him all the way to level 8. It seemed that Xia Fei still required a bit of luck to make the breakthrough to the apex.
“Dark Soul’s facilities sure are amazing. Even taking a bath is extremely relaxing.” Xia Fei soaked in the bathtub and shut his eyes, murmuring this to himself
This was no ordinary bathwater but rather a green liquid that had an even distribution of spirit energy in it. Such high-quality liquid, which had precious medicinal ingredients and precious spirit energy mixed in, was actually not used for drinking but for bathing in, instead! Xia Fei could not help but sigh at how lavishly someone could live here in 29th Place.
It was about time. Xia Fei put his clothes on and carefully kept his Sky Devil armor concealed before making his way to the landing pad by the crater to rendezvous with the others.
The price of enjoying first-rate facilities was heavy workload. Xia Fei would have to go on a mission on the second day just after having arrived at 29th Place. Xiu Zetian, who had set his heart on avenging his wife, made the 29th Place seem like an arrow on a taut bowstring, with everyone in a heightened state of alert every day.
Furthermore, Xia Fei discovered that Shane would always very ‘coincidentally’ appear beside him. It looked like Xiu Zetian had taken precautions against him, and Shane was the mole he had planted to Xia Fei’s side, observing each and every move of his.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine…
Xia Fei counted in his heart. Including Xiu Zetian and him, the standing team of Dark Soul actually only comprised ten people. They happened to be just the right size for a small squad, and most of those left in the base were support and reserved agents. As the famous secret service for the New Hero Alliance, there were really not a lot of people that belonged to 29th Place.
*Whoosh*
When it was time, everyone boarded the warship and departed. As for the exact coordinates of their destination, only Xiu Zetian knew himself.
Thirty hours of flight later, after passing through countless spatial arrays, the warship finally arrived at its destination.
This was a huge rock, which was as sturdy as steel and as flat as a mirror. This rock had been hollowed out and built into a ring-shaped fortress. As though someone had placed a ring on top of an icy surface, it was even more remarkable than what Xia Fei had seen in pictures.
To say that the remaining Devil Shadow Dragoons would hide in such a conspicuous place, Xia Fei refused to believe this. Furthermore, this temporary fortress’s architecture was jagged and sharp, reminding Xia Fei of the Fiend cities that he had seen in the past.
“According to the arrangement we’ve previously made, Haolin, you’re in charge of keeping watch of the perimeter with two others. The rest will follow me,” Xiu Zetian said with a wave of his hand.
The elites of 29th Place were well-trained, and Haolin brought two of them to set up a defensive perimeter at once, while the rest entered the temporary fortress with Xiu Zetian taking the lead.
Several minutes later, Xia Fei witnessed Xiu Zetian send each one of his men to search the place entirely, leaving just the two of them in the deepest recesses of the fortress.
Xia Fei and Xiu Zetian went on an expressway, which looked like the slide firemen would use, and entered a semi-circular room. This room was empty as though it had been a very long time since anyone was last down here.
Upon reaching this room, Xiu Zetian’s footsteps came to a halt and he turned to face Xia Fei. “Do you know what this place is?”
“I think that it’s a temporary barracks of the Fiends,” Xia Fei answered immediately.
At that, Xiu Zetian looked at Xia Fei with a slight hint of surprise in his eyes and asked, “How were you able to tell?”
Xia Fei looked around, took in his surroundings, and softly gave his answer. “The lines are sharp, completely in line with the design philosophy of the Fiends. The construction is a little rough—an indication that it was makeshift and built at the last minute. It’s rather large, able to contain an army, and after so many years, one can see the many scars the place has weathered. With the four points I just mentioned, I can be certain that this was once a temporary encampment of the Fiends all those years back.
“Though you made tactical arrangements, all of that was just a coverup. If you truly were to go up against those traitorous Devil Shadow Dragoons, you’d find yourself at a major loss. Plus, this isn’t the first time you’ve been here, demonstrating a fair familiarity with the structure. You’re brimming with confidence as you made your way here, so I’m even more certain that Yabu and his people aren’t here. You have an ulterior motive for coming down here.”
Xia Fei’s answer was of course very illuminating, easily deducing Xiu Zetian’s true motives with just a few sentences.
This was a plan of his. Xia Fei knew that 29th Place was teeming with experts, so he needed to demonstrate the value of his existence for Xiu Zetian to understand that Xia Fei had never been some insignificant nobody at the very least.
“That’s right!” Xiu Zetian admitted. “This was indeed a temporary barracks the Devil Shadow Dragoons had constructed during their marches, and that’s also a habit of the Fiends when fighting. Even if they would only spend one night in a place, they still constructed a fortress that could defend against potential ambushes, according to their strict requirements.
“I won’t keep it from you, but the Devil Shadow Dragoons set off from this very location all those years back, heading toward the previously agreed-on final battlefield with the other Dragoons. Alas, they didn’t appear on the battlefield after they had set off from this place.”
Xia Fei nodded, saying in a grave voice, “It means that this place is indeed worth investigating, and you’ve personally done just that. Why am I here then?”
Xiu Zetian strode toward a corner and pointed at the wall. “Yes, I did do my research, and not just once, but I couldn’t find a way to access the Fiends’ military strategy office.
*Boom*
After Xiu Zetian had said that, he slammed a fist to the wall; that wall immediately parted to the sides from the middle, revealing another room. Xia Fei curiously made his way over to Xiu Zetian’s side and peered in from the entrance.
“See for yourself!”
Xiu Zetian reached his right hand deep into the passageway, and a crackling sound of cooking meat could be heard at once; half of Xiu Zetian’s hand had gotten slightly charred.
An expert at his level would not mind such a superficial injury. Xiu Zetian shook his arm, took out an odious medical salve, and applied it on his hand.
“The Fiends were masters of strategy, who could do simulations of their plans almost instantly. That’s why there were rooms in the Devil Shadow Dragoons’ temporary fortress, meant for discussing confidential tactics and formations, and they’re called military strategy offices. In order to prevent others from eavesdropping, they placed restrictions on it. I’ve tried so many times, yet I was unable to get in each time.” Xiu Zetian sighed.
Xia Fei smiled and muttered, “So you need me to get in.”
“Indeed. You have their bloodline, so you’ll be permitted entry into this place!” Xiu Zetian replied.
Xia Fei wrinkled his forehead. There were many kinds of restrictions in this world, and Xiu Zetian’s thinking was arbitrary. Xia Fei might be unable to gain access to the room if it were not a bloodline restriction.
This was on top of the fact that Xia Fei did not have a 100% pure Fiend bloodline.
Thinking about this, Xia Fei reached out a hand and probed it through the entrance just like what Xiu Zetian had done. Instantly, an unbearable burning sensation crept up Xia Fei’s arm.
Xia Fei’s heart chilled. This was a clear indication that he was being restricted entry as well! He had no idea what sort of strange technology or method had been used here, for this entryway to be capable of burning someone’s body in thin air! There was hardly any energy movement at this entrance at all, so where could this burning sensation be coming from?
Just as Xia Fei was about to pull his hand back, something strange occurred!
Xia Fei had reached out for two rings: one was the extra-large spatial ring Peak Rainbow and the other was that Fiend birthright ring his grand ancestor had given him!
It was this ring that had actually abated the burning pain he felt. It was as though someone had applied a generous layer of cooling salve over Xia Fei’s arm, as that burning-hot sensation disappeared just as swiftly as it appeared!
“Sure enough, I was right! It’s a bloodline seal! Only Fiends can gain entry!” Xiu Zetian’s eyes sparkled as he gushed in excitement.
Xia Fei kept his cool. It was a good thing his grand ancestor had given him this strange black ring, or else if he had to force his way in, Xia Fei would highly likely find himself burned to a crisp!
“It’s up to you now; go in and take a look. Just what oddity did the Devil Shadow Dragoons discover in this temporary military strategy office!” Xiu Zetian rasped with labored breath, almost as though he had long been waiting for this day to come.
Xia Fei silently retracted his arm and thoughtfully stroked his chin. “I suddenly thought of something.”
Xiu Zetian was startled but soon burst into laughter, saying, “I’m no fool. Speak; tell me your conditions!”
Xia Fei moved to negotiate conditions. This was what it meant to thread the needle when there was a seam, after all.
“It’s not really so much a condition as that I have an elemental weapon, as you may know. There are, in total, five pieces; right now, I only have three out of the five. The other two still remain in Alpha, and I have no clue who has either of them, too.” Xia Fei unhurriedly gave the preamble.
Radix understood at once what Xia Fei was doing. He was intentionally probing Xiu Zetian to learn just how crazy he might be, all so he could begin setting up his stratagem!
If Xiu Zetian was mature and prudent, then Xia Fei would be able to gain plenty of benefits from being on his side, but if Xiu Zetian was the sort to refuse a compromise and doing others a favor, solely intent on avenging his wife, Xia Fei would just seize this opportunity to capitalize on it!
“Alpha Universe? No problem! While I can’t guarantee things in Annihilation, Alpha is just a lower-tier universe; who cares whether they live or die? I’ll send men out to do a complete investigation for you once we return! I assure you that we’ll locate whatever you’re searching for! Are you satisfied with that?” Xiu Zetian readily offered.
Xia Fei did not press further, pretending to be very touched by Xiu Zetian’s offer as he remarked, “I’m eternally grateful! I won’t hesitate even in the face of broken bones! Leader, Xia Fei shall now head in to see just what’s in the world is on the other side!”
When Xia Fei first entered the Alpha Universe with the Immemorial Mystical Armaments, the various pieces had latched onto other hosts like parasites.
Though Xia Fei had joined Annihilation, a higher-tier universe, the other two Immemorial Mystical Armaments regrettably remained unaccounted for back in Alpha. Since they had found respective hosts, unless those hosts were killed, there would be no way for those armaments to move again.
Finding people in the Alpha Universe was no different from searching for a needle in a haystack, but Xia Fei was now in Annihilation! He had even joined the fearsome Dark Soul! He could definitely borrow their power to locate those people and snatch the Immemorial Mystical Armament for himself! The five elemental divine weapons could finally merge as a whole!
With that, Xia Fei walked through the entrance toward the military strategy office, even as Xiu Zetian’s voice echoed from behind him.
“Be thorough! It’s the place the Devil Shadow Dragoons started their betrayal! They must’ve uncovered some secret that they couldn’t divulge in their last tactical assembly!”
