Speed was the best defense as well as the best offense, but speed was also the hardest to raise out of all the abilities, especially now that Xia Fei had reached the intermediate Star River rank; raising it any further would be exceptionally difficult.
For a pair of unseemingly combat boots to raise the wearer’s speed by ten percent, such an effect was simply unbelievable.
Xia Fei maintained his composure, his eyes resting on the Zephyr combat boots for but a moment before flicking away, pretending to think nothing of them. He even started a tuneless hum.
“All the fruits I have are here. I originally wanted to save some for myself, but since Brother Xia Fei is such a straightforward person, I’ll just let you have them all,” Sun Zhan very courteously said.
He pulled out a square crisper, which was specifically used to store fruits in from his heavy backpack, and handed it over to Xia Fei.
“Then, I’m truly thankful for your generosity.” Xia Fei smiled as he took the box and opened it.
He rummaged inside the crisper briefly and noted that there were a total of 738 fruits inside. They were mostly White Dews and Snake Eye Berries, with even a small potion of Hundred Year Grapes, Agarwood Juniper Berries, and other such fruits.
All of these fruits were wild grown, each one glistening with freshness and of varying price, but the true market value of each was most definitely above 300,000 star coins. There was nobody out there who would complain even if these perfectly stored fruits were twice their present price.
Closing its lid, Xia Fei pulled out a spontaneous transfer reader from his spatial ring. This clever device was no bigger than a box of cigarettes, and there were two slots on it. It enabled users to transfer funds across bank cards at any time without requiring any complicated log in to e-banking services or requiring people to head down to a branch office to complete transactions.
“There are 738 fruits, each at 300,000 star coins, for a total of 221,400,000 star coins. I’ll transfer the amount to you right now.”
“Okay.” Sun Zhan nodded, barely containing his excitement as he handed his bank card to Xia Fei.
The two cards were slotted in, and the amount was transferred. Later, with the two-factor authentication of retina and fingerprint scan, the over two hundred millions star coins were instantly transferred into Sun Zhan’s account.
The young man stared at the new balance displayed on his bankcard and flushed red with glee.
“Now that the funds have been transferred, it should be enough for you to purchase the weapon and equipment you need from the fair. Do take note of a few things before you buy, though…”
Xia Fei very kindly informed him of the essentials when it came to making equipment purchases. Phantom was incessantly reminding XIa Fei to buy that pair of Zephyr combat boots quickly, but Xia Fei had his plans, so he ignored him.
The very detailed information and analysis Xia Fei gave Sun Zhan benefited the young man greatly. After all, he was but a fresh warrior, hardly well-versed when it came to weapons or equipment. Though he had learned quite a lot of information from the interplanetary internet, they were still mostly superficial morsels, which were nothing compared to the wise words a veteran warrior, who had plenty of experience, would be able to impart.
“It’s getting late, so that’s more or less it for now. If you have any other questions, feel free to give me a ring or send an email to me. If I know the answer, I will not hesitate to give it to you,” Xia Fei said.
Sun Zhan had a face of gratitude, thanking Xia Fei profusely from the bottom of his heart.
Xia Fei stood up and made his way out to the door, when he suddenly heard a crack. The sole of the canvas sneakers Xia Fei was wearing had fallen off.
Xia Fei sat down in a chair and frowned. He examined his exposed soles and sighed. “Ah, I originally thought I would merely be strolling about, so I merely wore some simple shoes; who would’ve thought that they would be so shoddy and get spoiled after a bit of walking?”
Sun Zhan laughed. “Brother Xia Fei, wait here for a bit. I’ll head out and buy you a sturdier pair, though I have no idea what your size is.”
Xia Fei waved his hand dismissively. He looked around the room casually, and his eyes stopped at the muddy Zephyr combat boots. “No need to go through all that trouble. That pair you’ve got there seems tough enough, so I’ll just wear it back, instead.”
Sun Zhan was slightly taken aback, but he soon chuckled. “Sure. Though they look dirty, they’re actually brand new. I’ll just give them a quick wipe down first.”
“Brand new?” Xia Fei found it hard to believe. “Then, why did they get so muddy?”
Sun quickly awkwardly answered, “I was afraid that my father would pursue me when I made my escape, so I wore one on my foot and had another on my arm, making two different sets of tracks in the mud. I was rushing to Thousand Island immediately after, so I didn’t have any time to give them a good clean.”
Xia Fei now understood the reason why the boots were muddy; it was all because Sun Zhan had used it to tamper with the scene.
Not long after, Sun Zhan came with the Zephyr combat boots all cleaned up. Sure enough, the boots were essentially brand new, and the twin claws soaring dragon leather used to make this pair of boots hardly even had a single crease on it.
“Oh, not bad. These boots are really lightweight. They’re also pretty sturdy.” Xia Fei changed out his shoes to the boots and did a few test jumps. All he felt was a sense of lightness on his feet.
“That’s a pair my father gifted me. He said that I can use it when I grow up to gather herbs and the like at Cloud Valley, but now that I’ve decided to become a proper warrior, I naturally have no need for these boots,” Sun Zhan said somewhat wistfully.
Xia Fei replied, “You’re not wrong. As a fire-type ability user, it’s only natural for you to wear some combat boots that are more heat resistant, but these boots suit me very well, so how much for them? I’ll transfer the amount to you.”
Sun Zhan hurriedly rejected this. “Brother Xia Fei, you’ve already helped so much; how could I accept more money from you? Just take it as me gifting this pair of combat boots to you. Besides, my father’s warehouse still has plenty of the same boots, so I doubt it’s worth much.”
Xia Fei and Phantom were stunned when they heard that. The Zephyr combat boots were Eternal-grade equipment, and it had the extraordinary effect of raising the wearer’s speed. Xia Fei was already ecstatic that he found a single pair in this world, yet Sun Zhan said that his father had plenty more in storage? Just what sort of organization was this Nanming Association?
Xia Fei pondered over this new information in his mind. Sun Zhan and this Nanming Association was quite the mystery; perhaps it could be of help to him in the future. Sun Zhan was most definitely not someone he should just randomly walk away from. He ought to use him to dig out the Nanming Association, which was hidden deep within the mountains and old forests.
With such a thought in mind, Xia Fei chuckled. “Brother, I thank you for your kind intentions. I won’t deny it; I don’t really have anything I can give you, so why don’t we do it this way: We’ve still got some daylight left today, so I’ll accompany you to the fair and help you pick out the equipment you need, then tonight, you can accompany me back to where I’m staying, and I’ll introduce you to some friends of mine? Who knows? You may even be able to join and train in the Adjudicator Union.”
“Adjudicator Union?” Sun Zhan could hardly hide the excitement in his voice. There was no one in the alliance that did not know just how powerful the Adjudicator Union was. Anyone who wished to join it would have an extremely tough time, but now that Xia Fei had offered to help introduce him, this was practically a gift from heaven.
Sun Zhan got the concierge to send his luggage to Sparrow Island, having decided to stay in the same hotel as Xia Fei this night. Meanwhile, Xia Fei was thrilled. An association that was able to produce a large amount of superb wild herbs and medicinal ingredients, as well as a warehouse that had several pairs of Zephyr combat boots in storage, was most definitely anything but simple, which was why he had decided to keep Sun Zhan around.
…
It was evening, and Xia Fei returned to Sparrow Island with the newly decked out Sun Zhan.
…
At Xia Fei’s behest, Sun Zhan purchased for himself a Seraph II combat suit dedicated to fire-type ability users and a set of short and long weapons—a dagger called the Fire Bee-stinger, shaped like a wasp’s stinger, which could be hidden under his sleeve and a long sword called Heaven’s Burning Blade, which looked fairly nondescript but was of good quality and most suitable for beginner warriors like himself.
Aside from these, he also got himself a set of commonly used tools, with the total coming up to be around 160 million star coins. The remaining eighty million star coins Sun Zhan had to his name would be enough for his daily and other such expenses.
Sun Zhan stood tall as he followed behind Xia Fei, looking absolutely dashing and proud. He could not bear to toss out his old clothes, however, and had them all in a small bundle, which he slung on his back.
It was late evening; Bean and his gang had just returned to Sparrow Island, each of them happily displaying the new toys that they had bought for themselves from the trip.
These men were truly not the typical martial arts practitioner, for what they bought was hardly proper equipment used by warriors but rather sinister and diabolical hidden weaponry of sorts. Mosquito had bought himself a secret manual about how to concoct antidotes, and that was considered the most useful out of the lot.
Came night time, the lot gathered in the restaurant for a big meal. Xia Fei introduced Sun Zhan to these lads. While they all had quite eccentric and wilful personalities, these young teens all valued brotherhood greatly, welcoming Sun Zhan with open arms.
As the topic changed, Xia Fei sighed and began telling Sun Zhan’s story. “Brothers, I’m not sure if you’re aware, but little brother Sun Zhan is in quite the pickle.”
The honest and simple Hammer furrowed his brows. “What do you mean?”
“Sun Zhan is born from a family that refines drugs and medicines, but he has his heart set on practicing martial arts. This time, he ran away from home and joined The Brotherhood Carnival; due to his family’s strong opposition toward practicing martial arts, I’m afraid that he will be severely punished by his family if he doesn’t return with some results to show for.”
Xia Fei had exaggerated Sun Zhan’s circumstances greatly, describing Sun Zhan’s father as an old traditionalist who despised the warrior profession, while making Sun Zhan out to be a progressive young man who had his heart set on becoming a warrior.
These hooligans were all the most famous warriors in the Adjudicator Union, so they of course highly respected the profession of a warrior. They detested people who spoke poorly of warriors, which was why Sun Zhan’s actions brought up rousing support from these gangsters.
“Brother Sun Zhan, what plans do you have for your future?” Hammer asked.
Sun Zhan sighed. “I’ll have to take things one step at a time. Ultimately, I came here without any kin or relation to speak of, so of course there’s no way for these large organizations to take me in. All I can hope for is some small organization taking me in. I don’t really care as long as I can become a warrior.”
“That’s no good.” Bean waved his hand, pretending to be some knowledgeable veteran. “Small warrior organizations don’t have money or power to speak of; you’d only be crippling your future if you were to join them.”
Everyone sounded off in agreement, only to have Sun Zhan asking, pale-faced. “But I don’t know anyone here. How could it be so easy for me to join a large organization?”
Everyone turned to Monkey, who was in the middle of polishing off a chicken wing. Monkey was abruptly shocked, but he soon sighed. “You guys are so scary. Fine. I’ll go give my old man a call.”
…
Monkey’s father served as the department head of training of the Adjudicator Union, specifically in charge of picking out young talents. Unable to reject Monkey’s smiling face, Sun Zhan was instantly given the qualifications to join the capital ring’s Adjudicator Union’s training camp.
Sun Zhan was of course greatly indebted and felt even more grateful to Xia Fei for helping him make the introductions in the first place.
The feast was over, and Shun Zhan followed Xia Fei back to retire for the night. Along the way, Sun Zhang quietly slipped something into Xia Fei’s hands, thanking him loudly before leaving without turning his head back.
“What have you got there?” Phantom crooked his head curiously and asked.
