Almost at the same time, Xia Fei and the Shepherdian both made their move. Their target was that lump of gold suspended in mid-air!
*Whoosh*
Relying on his advantage of speed, Xia Fei was the first to reach the side of the giant vine, his feet planted on the branch, using the inertia from before to aid him in making a pounce right for it, his entire body practically horizontal.
The speed ability no doubt lived up to its name as the hardest one to deal with, and this still remained true even when he reached the Law Realm. The Shepherdian knitted his eyebrows, letting out a shrill scream!
*Kaboom*
Six huge hands came shooting out from the ground explosively. The Shepherdian was a Law of Matter Adept, so he did not need to do the punching himself. He could completely change the structure of matter, using everything around him to attack!
It was at that moment when something unexpected happened!
Perhaps Xia Fei applied too much strength when he stomped on the vine, but that shiny golden object atop the vine suddenly dropped, falling directly for the Shepherdian’s head.
Xia Fei’s two eyes widened. He was regretting his overt use of force, which caused the precious object to fall off!
“Crafty Approach!” While in mid-air! Xia Fei did a beautiful pirouette and relying on the pedal action of his two legs, his entire body doing a twist as he went after the falling golden object!
The Shepherdian felt very nervous. Xia Fei’s speed was extremely fast, and his incredible physical agility was shocking. His display of skills had already surpassed the techniques he learned from Assassin Sect, and it was now a style of his own. It was Xia Fei’s Crafty Approach! A Crafty Approach that no one could mimic!
*Whoosh*
Even the Shepherdian did not expect that Xia Fei would fail to grasp onto the treasure!
It was about ten centimeters away, yet Xia Fei had actually missed it!
This was a huge blow!
For a speed ability user with Crafty Approach, how could he have missed?!
The Shepherdian was elated, and the soil he had been standing on suddenly surged. This was the power of the Law of Matter, allowing him to rise with the soil, thereby allowing him to faster close in on the treasure.
‘No matter what that is, it shall ultimately be mine!’ The Shepherdian was excited. His attention was completely concentrated on the treasure above him, and the excitement he felt for having successfully snatched away a treasure from a speed ability user was indescribable.
However, what he failed to notice was how the corners of Xia Fei’s lips curled up, sinisterly and strangely.
Just as the Shepherdian was relishing the moment, a figure appeared behind him, revealing a murderous look!
This was another Xia Fei; there was one in the air while the other was on the ground!
*Huff huff*
This Xia Fei on the ground breathed heavily and had ill intent!
*Slap slap*
Two arms very lithely wrapped around the Shepherdian, just as a glowing circle rose, separating him from the surroundings!
The Shepherdian was extremely appalled. He did not understand how he had suddenly been trapped. He wanted to activate his Law of Matter yet discovered that he was already separated from the environment!
This was a snare of pure energy. The Shepherdian could control everything around him but lacked the ability to control this cascade of energy!
Killing intent pervaded!
All the struggle was for naught. When a warrior got restrained by the holy beast Shatterstar, any attempt at escaping would simply be useless!
Indeed, that Xia Fei down on the ground was Furball! A clone of Xia Fei’s!
The supersized vine, which was in the middle of the Shepherdian and Xia Fei, partially blocked the line of vision, and the sparkling golden object high above had drawn the majority of attention from the Shepherdian!
When Xia Fei was near the vine, Furball turned into a clone of him, while Peacock Blue wrapped itself around this clone, looking no different from being part of the vine. Just as the Shepherdian’s attention shifted away, Peacock Blue heaved and tossed Furball to the Shepherdian’s side!
Everything else that happened was self-explanatory once this was understood. Xia Fei had intentionally made it seem like he failed to catch the treasure, and Furball used this opportunity to use its energy to trap the Sheperhadian. Now, holding onto Blood Crystal, Xia Fei came stabbing down into his skull!
The eyes of this Shepherdian were wide open. He had not expected his Law of Matter to be restrained! Of course, he no longer had the chance to think or regret! This was because Blood Crystal had already been jabbed deep into his scalp!
*Crunch*
The blade cut deep into the Shepherdian’s head, cutting him into two, only stopping once it reached its stomach!
Furball let out a loud roar, excited at having witnessed this killing blow!
The body almost instantly withered. This Shepherdian, who originally looked like a zombie, no longer had a lick of life in him. He had once yearned to drain Xia Fei dry, yet it was him who turned into a desiccated corpse by Xia Fei’s hands!
*Plonk*
Xia Fei reached out his right hand and safely caught that golden box, which was falling from the sky, spitting directly at the already dried up body of the Shepherdian near him.
“To hell with your Law of Matter.”
Furball let go of the corpse and ran back to Xia Fei, his eyes all warm and friendly.
This entire sequence felt weird because Furball now looked exactly like Xia Fei.
A light tap of a finger was all it took to send the corpse of the Shepherdian falling on the ground, turning into dust upon impact!
Heaving a long sigh, Xia Fei muttered, “This Law of Matter Substitution sure is difficult to deal with. If not for Furball’s powers which let him ensnare enemies, this battle might’ve been exceedingly difficult.”
Lionheart Emperor Oro did not share this thought. “You barely spent much time here in the Law Realm, but as time passes, you’ll learn that there’s actually a great assortment of laws everywhere in the Law Realm, and a mere Law of Matter isn’t anything at all. If it were me, I’d kill that Shepherdians a hundred times over.”
Xia Fei replied, “Everything has its weakness. The Law of Matter Substitution can’t escape from an energy snare, and it’s Furball’s aid that gave us today’s victory.”
Furball, now back in his original form, hopped up to take his usual spot on Xia Fei’s shoulder, staring at his master’s ring even as he took credit for this accomplishment. Xia Fei chuckled as he took out an Origin Crystal from within and fed it to Furball to feast on.
“That expression of yours when you missed grabbing the golden box was so subtle and genuine. I think you’ve quite the talent for acting.” Oro laughed.
Xia Fei did not give a response. He sat down and lit a cigarette before opening that box.
“A Spatial Compass! It’s actually a compass! I can travel freely now that I have this!” Xia Fei was elated.
Ever since he learned that the Spatial Compass existed here in the Law Realm, Xia Fei had been planning to buy one. Unfortunately, the price of this item, which would allow him to travel between the Law Realm and the Alliance, was too high, and even the cheapest would cost him a thousand grade 4 Origin Crystal—an amount that he had yet to save up even until this moment.
At this point, everything about this matter had been settled. Xia Fei had no idea what grade this compass was, but if its outer appearance was any indication, it must surely be quite good.
…
*Whoosh whoosh whoosh*
Several figures landed one after another. They were of course Zanian Feng, Busey, and his three offspring.
All they saw was Xia Fei sitting down cross-legged on the ground as if nothing happened, with his back leaning against the canyon wall.
Zanian wanted to yell Xia Fei’s name, but Busey stopped him.
“He’s in the process of making a breakthrough. We can talk to him later.”
It took some time for them to clear out all the despicable Shepherdians from the assessment ground and all the surviving candidates had been sent back to Dragon Ascension Hall by now. Only Xia Fei remained because he was on the verge of making a breakthrough to the next level, so he failed to notice the signal from Busey to gather.
“He’s about to get promoted?! Other candidates fled for their lives, yet this man actually killed a Shepherdian and even stayed behind to advance?!” Buma was surprised. She was a pretty lady with a pair of cute dimples whenever she spoke and looked nothing like her father Busey, who was a complete piece of rock with his expressionless face.
“He’s called Xia Fei, and I’m the one who found him. Though he’s just a level 2 Law Sovereign in terms of cultivation, his combat strength isn’t worse than any other candidates. More important is that clear mind of his, able to execute tasks with great organizational detail, which complements his warrior’s impulse.” Zanian laughed. This was his first time being the Eagle-eye scout for the martial hall, and he was very confident with his judgment skills.
Buma was slightly surprised. She examined the traces of battle around them before saying, “That’s strange. The Shepherdian was reduced to scum. I wonder what sort of methods he used… This Channeling Cloud Vine should’ve been father’s secret riddle, too, and he managed to solve it.”
Busey nodded, not saying a word more.
Zanian took out a terminal and did a quick calculation before happily declaring, “Uncle Busey. Look. Xia Fei had obtained 13 identification plates himself, and the dead Shepherdian had 12. Clearing your secret riddle gives him 50 points, which comes up to a total of 75 points. That’s 30 points more than the person that came in second. Looks like your Edgeless War Armor will have to be given to him.”
Busey still maintained that stoney expression, seemingly unaffected by the news. Buma took the terminal in hand, somewhat in disbelief, calculating it once over before softly saying, “To think the person coming in first is just a Law Sovereign with a level two cultivation. I wouldn’t believe this if I didn’t see it with my two eyes. After all, only 173 candidates are alive following this round, and most were killed by their companions or the Shepherdians.”
Zanian waved his hand. “He might only be a level 2 Law Sovereign at this moment, but when Xia Fei wakes up, he’ll be level three.”
After some time, Xia Fei finally opened his eyes. He was of course aware that there were people around him, and it was only because he was on the verge of breaking through that he did not stop and conversed with Busey and the others when they first arrived.
After absorbing that Shepherdian, the colorful energy ball in Xia Fei’s brain region exploded once again, and the energy that engulfed him helped promote Xia Fei to the next level!
This method of absorbing foreign energy and then releasing it in his brain region was changing silently. The higher his level, the more energy was needed to make the promotion. Compared to the first time, this promotion process was not as breezy. Defeating the Shepherdian had caused Xia Fei to use up quite a lot of energy.
“Congratulations on reaching level 3 Law Sovereign! To have been promoted right after a battle, you’re really something else aren’t you? Tell me: How did you kill that Shepherdian?” Zanian asked with a smile.
Buma was curious as well. “That’s right. How did you reduce the corpse of the Shepherdian to dust? Just what sort of law or martial arts technique did you use?”
“First, while I did just get promoted, I’m not a level 3 but a level 4 Law Sovereign, instead,” Xia Fei corrected casually.
Everyone was taken aback upon hearing that. Even Busey could not help but purse his lips.
“Getting promoted two whole levels in five days of battle! Xia Fei, you’ve really opened my eyes,” Zanian unintentionally threw a glance at Busey as he said this, seemingly trying to send some message.
This was when Furball burped and took his place on Xia Fei’s shoulder; to which, Zanian remarked, “I almost forgot. Your Holy Beast got promoted as well. Looks like you’re the greatest winner in this first assessment of the Dragon Ascension Conclave.”
“Shatterstar?!”
“The Holy Beast Shatterstar!” Buma and the others exclaimed as this secret Xia Fei had on him was truly a shocking discovery.
“Let’s go. We can chat after we head back. The initial assessment is already over. The next cycle will be a month later, and when that time comes, the elites of other families and the Nine Great Clans will all participate in the fight, and the difficulty will be even greater than today.”
Perhaps Busey was afraid of Xia Fei getting full of himself, so he mentioned the difficulty of the second cycle of assessment. Right now, he just wanted to end this as soon as possible so that he could return to the headquarters and give Hallmaster Kuzan a detailed report. He felt very uneasy inside.
“Zanian, you’ll be in charge of giving the precise details to Xia Fei later. Also, bring him over to the Law Enforcement commissioner before letting him return to Yu family,” Busey instructed.
Zanian and Xia Fei nodded.
“Don’t forget to work hard and cultivate more after you return to the Yu family. The assessment with the Nine Great Clans participating is never easy.”
“Do I have to return to Yu family?” Xia Fei shrugged. He was thinking to himself, ‘It’s been so long, and Yu Hua hasn’t sent any word to me. Has Old Patriarch Yu Jiang not discovered that I killed his friend yet?’
