“We, the Skywings, possess a lineage of superspeed, and at the apex of cultivation, move as if we have wings on our backs. We can fly through the river of stars and laugh at the nine heavens, and we can dive into the primordial chaos and the twenty-six levels of hell. Since ancient times, we have always been known as the number-one bloodline when it comes to speed!” Xia Buyun told Xia Fei in a very serious tone.
“Your current state does not fit the word ‘Skywing,’ so I have arranged one month of high intensity training for you. You will learn the Law of Speed at our Xia family’s Windrider Pavilion.”
Xia Fei pursed his lips. He had far too many questions, and he had only listened to half of Xia Buyun’s words. He spent the rest of the time thinking about why he had Skywing blood.
“I know that you must have a lot of questions, but now is not the time to relax. One month later will be the decisive battle between our Skywings and the Moonwards! We have no plans on making you the primary force in this battle, but you also can’t drag me and Xia Tian down!
“All problems are not problems at all! If you have anything to say, save it for one month after!” Xia Buyun sternly said, his face grim.
…
Ever since Xia Fei got involved with the Skywings, his life had started to become very tense.
Without being given a chance to speak, Xia Fei was pushed out of Xia Buyun’s study after he was told a brief introduction about his bloodline. Xia Zonghai, who had received the patriarch’s order, took Xia Fei to the Galewind Garden’s spatial gate and sent Xia Fei to Windrider Pavilion.
Xia Fei really wanted to know how he had managed to get Skywing blood; alas, Xia Buyun had not given him the chance to ask. Any questions would have to wait for one month later, after the storm had calmed.
“Brother Zonghai, where are you off to?” the dark-skinned and muscular Xia Mang, who accompanied Xia Zonghai and Xia Fei to the side garden, curiously asked.
“Heheh! The patriarch has ordered me to send Xia Fei to Windrider Pavilion.” Xia Zonghai chuckled. Though they had not killed off all of the Moonward Clan, he had at least managed to vent some of his rage, so Xia Zonghai appeared to be in a much better mood.
A startled Xia Mang looked oddly at Xia Fei, then he whispered, “Windrider Pavilion? Grandpa Laoshi’s place?”
Xia Zonghai nodded. “Of course. Windrider Pavilion has always been managed by Grandpa Laoshi.”
The two of them looked sympathetically at Xia Fei, exchanged a look, and then helplessly shook their heads.
Xia Fei’s mind was still in turmoil, so he failed to notice their strange looks.
As he turned the corner, Xia Zonghai said unhappily to Xia Fei, “Everyone else is trying desperately to get into the Skywings, hoping to obtain our protection, but you’re here looking like you’re miles away with your own thoughts.”
Xia Fei could only bitterly smile. Going from an orphan to a member of the infamous Skywings was simply too much. Anyone would find it hard to digest.
Xia Zonghai solemnly said, “I advise you to gather your senses and focus up as soon as possible. The Windrider Pavilion isn’t a place to mess around.”
…
Once the coordinates were set, Xia Fei followed Xia Zonghai through the gate and arrived at a small city.
While the streets were not wide, they were rather clean. The buildings were sparsely spread out and were built in all kinds of styles. There were classical mansions, modern skyscrapers, and elegant houses built in the middle of forests. The only rule was that there was no rule. Every person built the sort of residence they wanted, not caring one bit about the general layout of the city. Xia Fei suspected that the city did not even have a city plan at all and had essentially come together from a mishmash of personal residences.
There were not many people on the streets, and many of the houses had locked gates and appeared not to have been lived in for some time. Most of the pedestrians passing by were elderlies or children. There were few teens or middle-aged people.
Xia Zonghai seemed to be very familiar with these people, warmly calling them and even introducing Xia Fei as the newest member of the Skywings.
“This is Xia City, the true residence of the Skywings. The Galewind Garden in White Horse Constellation is for the elites at the Law Emperor level and above to dwell. Everyone else lives here,” Xia Zonghai proudly explained. He had an affectionate look in his eyes for this bizarre city, and they were shining with excitement.
Xia Fei slightly frowned. “Xia City? This place doesn’t seem like a city, lacking the tension common in a city; it has a very laidback atmosphere.”
Xia Zonghai shot Xia Fei a look of discontent and said, “Laidback is the personality of our Skywing Clan! Besides, it’s not laidback; it’s freedom! Do you understand freedom? As long as you don’t break the clan rules, you can do whatever you want! Whether you want to construct a grass hovel or a giant mansion, it’s all okay. The dumb rules of the Law Realm only work on ordinary people; they don’t work on the Skywings! The people of our clan can do whatever we please!”
Xia Fei was startled. This was a very interesting declaration. A city made up of carefree and laidback people was naturally very free, hosting numerous styles of housing. No matter what sort of person one was, they could do whatever they wanted in this city.
Xia Fei saw plenty of hobby clubs as he walked: music, chess, tea, calligraphy… There were simply too many to count. While the residences were all tightly shut, the clubs were very active. Man or woman, young or old, they all gathered in these clubs to do what they wanted.
Of course, this was a very lazy life. Back on Earth, Xia Fei was constantly worried about filling his belly every day, and his greatest source of amusement had been to go and see a movie on payday. Comparing that life to the life of Xia City’s residents was like comparing earth to heaven.
Xia Fei felt like his past life had merely been about surviving. Only what the people here were doing could truly be called living.
The city was not big, and it did not take long for Xia Zonghai and Xia Fei to walk out of it. The entire way, Xia Zonghai had praised Xia City and had even introduced some of the famous clubs to Xia Fei.
“Xia City seems very small. How many residents does it have in total?” Xia Fei asked.
“About fifty thousand people,” Xia Zonghai said after some thought.
“Fifty thousand!” Xia Fei paled in shock. “The Skywing Clan has only fifty thousand people?!”
Xia Zonghai rolled his eyes at Xia Fei. “Why exactly are you so surprised?”
Xia Fei loudly replied, “Of course, I’m surprised! The Skywing Clan has only fifty thousand people in total, but it produced thirty-some Law Emperors and even Law Overlords! This… percentage of talented people is too high!”
It was hard to blame Xia Fei for his shock. The Yu Clan had more than one million people, but it had produced only three Law Emperors and zero Law Overlords! The Moonward Clan was one of the Nine Great Clans of mankind. Impressive, right? It had three million people, but it only had forty-seven Law Emperors and three Law Overlords!
However, the Skywings had only fifty thousand people, yet it was on par with the three-million-man Moonward Clan! How could Xia Fei not be shocked?!
Xia Zonghai appeared rather proud, heartily laughing. “That’s only if you judge things by the ordinary principles of the Law Realm. We’re the Skywings!”
Xia Fei showed his tongue. “Even though there are fifty thousand, I still haven’t seen that many. There can’t be more than ten thousand people living in Xia City.”
Xia Zonghai laughed even harder. “Who would anyone just sit around at home and do nothing? We, Skywings, have so many hobbies and interests; we also like adventuring. While there may not be a lot of people in Xia City, signs of our clan can be found all over the universe. Any place that’s dangerous or has anything strange will be visited by people of our clan.
“Let’s take the Galewind Garden for example. Normally, no one is there except me and Xia Wuye. You’ll understand once I tell you this story. Do you know how I got into the Law Enforcement Board?”
Xia Fei shook his head.
Xia Zonghai thumped his chest and stomped his feet. “Ah! Getting into the Law Enforcement Board means living in White Horse Constellation for a long time. None of the members of our family could stand that desolate lifestyle, and none of us was willing, but the Law Enforcement Board requested a Skywing representative, so we drew straws back then.”
Xia Fei swallowed and mentally asked, ‘What? Everyone is anxious to get into the government to make a name for themselves and plan out their future career. As for the Skywings, they even needed to draw straws to select a representative. This difference between people seems a little too big, right?’
He then curiously asked aloud, “So you’re saying that you lost?”
Xia Zonghai’s face darkened. “I get frustrated whenever I think about it. How could my luck be so bad? I can’t believe I got burdened with such a terrible job. Still, my ten-year term is almost up, and then we can draw straws again. I definitely won’t lose this time!”
Xia Fei was rendered speechless. Xia Zonghai was saying that the Law Enforcement Board was a terrible job?! All those other people trying their hardest to get into the Law Enforcement Board would probably lose their minds if they heard this. This was just how free and laidback the Skywings were.
From a distance, one could see a mountain thirty kilometers away from the city. The mountain was not particularly tall, but it was steep and precipitous. A large and simple building stood alone on the summit, accompanied only by a few cloud pines.
Xia Zonghai pointed at the building. “Up on that mountain is Windrider Pavilion, one of the Skywing’s clan schools. Only the most talented children of the clan can enter it.”
After a pause, Xia Zonghai added, “Our clan has been able to produce so many elites because of the Windrider Pavilion and its master, Xia Laoshi. Let alone me, even Patriarch Xia Buyun was mentored by Grandpa Laoshi.”
Xia Fei was surprised and felt some admiration for Windrider Pavilion and Xia Laoshi. Someone who could raise so many super experts could not be simple.
“While our clan is very free and laidback, this comes at a price. The experts in particular have the heavy responsibility of protecting the clan. The people you saw in Galewind Garden have all been trained at Windrider Pavilion. Of course, once they leave this place, the clan won’t require anything of its elites, not unless you’re an unfortunate soul like me and pull the bad straw to work at the Law Enforcement Board.” Xia Zonghai resentfully shook his head as he spoke. He apparently was unwilling to recall his experience at Windrider Pavilion.
…
At the peak of the mountain, outside of Windrider Pavilion’s main gate.
At this distance, Windrider Pavilion seemed like an ancient temple at the top of a mountain. The red walls rose to a height of three meters and circled the summit. Outside the gate were two elderly cloud pines. It was like the legendary cultivation grounds of immortals, suffused with a transcendent aura.
There was no one to be seen, but the laughter of children could be heard from inside. Presumably, these were all children of the younger generation of the Skywing Clan who had been chosen to cultivate in Windrider Pavilion.
Xia Zonghai utterly refused to go inside Windrider Pavilion. He pulled Xia Fei to the side and mysteriously said, “I’ll send you only up to here. You can go in yourself. The patriarch already explained the situation to Grandpa Laoshi.
“Since we have a pretty good relationship, let me warn you about two things: One, Grandpa Laoshi likes money—loves it in fact. Two, Xia Laoshi isn’t honest and sincere in the slightest.”
After saying these inexplicable words, Law Emperor Xia Zonghai turned around and made a run for it!
