Leaving Old Woods’ residence, Xia Fei went looking for Wolf Shunye in the Law Enforcement Board. It was already midday, yet Shunye had still been feeling sleepy. His two eyes were lifeless. A question from Xia Fei, and the fact that Gigawolf did not return home last night was revealed. Wolf Shunye spent the entire night in a brothel, losing quite a lot of his energy aside from money as a result.
Since he had nothing else to do, Shunye left the Law Enforcement Board’s compound with Xia Fei, heading out in search of a restaurant so that they could catch up over some food and drinks.
“This time, the Dragon Ascension Martial Hall suffered a more tragic defeat than us humans, having been beaten to the ground by the Sunnis. Zanian hasn’t shown his face yet for several days, most likely not having the courage to do so. Speaking of which, you really should’ve agreed to fight for him with you being a human and all. Now, everyone’s embarrassed as they lost in the tournament.” Shunye took a gulp of sake and sighed.
Xia Fei shrugged. “What use would it be if I went? It’s not as if one or two of us could settle the matter for all humanity.”
Shunye refuted his line of thinking. “Winning one more round would at least make us not lose this much face. Besides, the Sunnis were really arrogant, calling your name and declaring their desire to defeat you, even going as far as to claim that the human’s Fiend Blade is no more than a mere broken blade; even I felt embarrassed hearing that.”
Xia Fei chuckled. “Whether we’re a broken blade or not, that’s not up for them to decide. Forget it. Don’t go adding fuel to the fire. The Dragon Ascension Martial Hall is indeed decent, but I don’t have any time to spend going there. Let me ask you: What or where is this Goose Pagoda?”
Shunye was slightly surprised as he pointed to the left side of the sky. “Goose Pagoda’s a constellation, where the Sunnis reside. Just like how we humans stay in White Horse Constellation, the Sunnis reside in that Goose Pagoda Constellation. You just said that you’re not interested in the Sunnis, yet you’re asking about their constellation. Are you thinking of avenging humanity all by yourself?!”
Shunye’s eyes shone. He had treated Xia Fei as some brainless hero, even going as far as to undertake a solo mission to the enemy territory all for the sake of exacting vengeance. Xia Fei could not help but find this hilarious.
“Stop daydreaming.” Xia Fei laughed as he patted Shunye’s back. “What sort of animosity would I have with the Sunnis? Besides, if I really did have a grudge with them, I would’ve long acted on it; why would I wait till today to do so?”
Shunye shook his head, somewhat disappointed. “Here I thought that your Skywing Clan would be fuming over this, thinking of finding an opportunity to teach those egotistical Sunnis a lesson. Oh, well. All the famous major clans in White Horse Constellation held this fight against the Sunnis in high regard, yet it’s only your clan who didn’t participate.
“How strange your clansmen are, willing to turn the Law Realm upside down all for the sake of their fellow clansmen yet completely unperturbed by something involving all of humanity.”
Xia Fei had no words to say. There was practically no one in the Skywing Clan right at this moment, as almost everyone had long left, each of them off doing their own things. When it came to freedom and ease, the Skywings were second to none. They were definitely an extreme aberration in the Law Realm.
“Will there be some sort of meeting in Goose Pagoda Constellation half a month later?” Xia Fei changed the subject and asked.
Shunye lowered his head and counted with his fingers before replying, “That’s right. It’s about time for the Sunnis’s trade fair. It’s common for the various species to hold inter-species trade fairs. We have one such here in White Horse Constellation, too. When the time comes, the White Horse Constellation will be open to the entire Law Realm, where all sorts of sapient lifeforms from both the God Race and Demon Race can gather. It’s a very boisterous affair.”
With that said, Shunye’s expression turned distasteful. “Still, now that humans have lost that fight, I doubt that many will go to the Goose Pagoda Constellation.”
Xia Fei had never seen Wolf Shunye show such worries for his people before. Normally, the various species in the Law Realm would hardly have any contact with one another, so if Xia Fei wished to visit the territories of other species as a human, he would face plenty of restrictions. Naturally, he was quite enticed by the prospect of getting the chance to visit the other species in the Law Realm. Besides, he could also casually investigate the existence of that Law of Time. Going by Xia Fei’s habits, he was always open to taking a shot at things; after all, there was no telling if he just might gain something from it.
Of course, going by his habits, Xia Fei would more often than not take just that one shot, but he would more likely launch an entire barrage.
“This free trade fair seems very interesting. What do I have to do to visit the Goose Pagoda Constellation?” Xia Fei asked.
Shunye regarded Xia Fei strangely. “How to go? Bro, you’re a Law Emperor of the Skywing Clan, yet you’re actually asking me how you can get to Goose Pagoda Constellation?”
Xia Fei nodded solemnly.
Shunye was helpless. “Not only can you freely make a trip to such a grand meet, you can even attend as a VIP. If I’m not mistaken, you Skywings should’ve already gotten an invitation. Head back and ask Wuye and you’ll know.”
…
Status was not omnipotent, but at times it was a necessity. Xia Fei originally thought that he would have to face plenty of setbacks trying to get to the Sunnis’s Goose Pagoda Constellation, but what he did not know was that the invitation had already been waiting for him back home.
Xia Fei could only chuckle bitterly at this fact. It looked like it would take him some time to get used to his identity as one of the Skywings.
Wolf Shunye still had his shift back at the Law Enforcement Board later in the afternoon, so he bid Xia Fei farewell after a simple meal. Xia Fei took the slip of paper that Hua Hei and Hua Bai gave him and went looking for that legendary artificer.
*Whoosh*
After setting the coordinates on his Fig Corporation Precision Edition 100 series spatial compass, Xia Fei stepped through and found himself out in some desolate wilderness.
The mountain was high and he could see the bottom half of it standing tall before him, while the other half was hidden by the clouds, giving the place a lingering celestial feeling.
He followed along a mountain path going up, with the steps made from bluestone seemingly endlessly winding, just like a long snake.
Heeding Hua Hei and Hua Bai’s instructions, Xia Fei did not use his speed ability but climbed the mountain step by step like a regular human. He could not understand why he had to do this, but he had no choice in this regard. After all, it would be terrible to annoy an expert. Apparently, this artificer had a weird character and had plenty of cumbersome and useless rules.
Soon, Xia Fei appeared at the waist of the mountain. He had a better physique than most human beings, so even if he did not use his special ability, it was a piece of cake to climb up the mountain.
Suddenly, Xia Fei noticed that there was a strange little old man squatting by the roadside, looking at him with squinted eyes. His face was all red and his goatee was all black. It was just that his eyes were so small that they looked like two soybeans, though they withheld plenty of spirit.
Able to appear in front of his eyes so quietly was no easy feat, which just showed that this old man was anything but normal. Xia Fei smiled as he bowed to the old man. “Hello, Senior Huo Yutong.”
The old man was slightly stunned, puzzled. “Whose clan are you? How do you know me?”
Xia Fei was secretly delighted. Coming across an extraordinary old man out here in the wilderness, it was of course more likely for him to be the legendary expert that he had come to see. Xia Fei managed to get this, half through observation and half through guesswork.
In any case, there was no harm in bowing. At worst, he would just have to apologize for recognizing someone wrongly, but guessing correctly meant that he had taken the initiative.
“This junior could tell you’re an extraordinary person, so I figured that you should be the rumored expert, so I boldly hazarded a guess on who you might be, not expecting for it to be correct.”
Disguises and lies could be seen through, but flattery was something everyone loved to hear. Even Oro, the old demon lord, felt his skin turning numb upon hearing this bout of flattery Xia Fei had dished out generously. Thinking back now, Xia Fei had initially conducted the same act of heaping praises at him, and they made him feel rather pleased with himself back then. It was only later that Oro understood Xia Fei had done that purely because the young man believed that there was benefit to be had in establishing rapport with him back then; not only would he flatter, he would also give gifts.
Sure enough, before Old Huo understood what was going on, Xia Fei already presented him with gifts, and Oro felt a wicked chill wash over him.
The fact of the matter was, so-called experts were not exactly experts. Who knew how many experts had drowned in the flattery that Xia Fei offered?
Seeing as there was no need to reject someone’s kindness, no matter how eccentric Hua Yutong was, there was no way he could flare up at the smiling Xia Fei. He even somewhat happily commented, “You’ve got quite the eye, young man. Indeed, I am Huo Yutong. What’s your name?”
“This junior goes by the name of Xia Fei,’ Xia Fei bowed again, respectfully.
Huo Yutong first froze up, but he soon burst into laughter. “Xia Fei? The Xia Fei from the Skywing Clan?”
Xia Fei nodded. “Does this senior perhaps know of me?”
Huo Yutong grabbed Xia Fei’s arm and pulled him closer as he very warmly replied, “Only too well. Windrider Pavillion’s Xia Laoshi is my sect brother.”
Xia Fei was unamused, quickly thinking to himself that his flattery attempt had ended up backfiring, instead. His relationship with Xia Laoshi right now was far from ideal, and he might be in trouble this time.
Unexpectedly, Huo Yutong actually reacted very friendlily toward Xia Fei, walking beside him as he let out a raucous laughter. “I heard about Xia Laoshi heading out, purchasing high-quality Origin Crystals from everywhere at exorbitant prices. Only after I did some further digging did I learn that the old crook had been tricked by you! Hearing that you cleaned out an entire warehouse of his savings gladdened my heart greatly!”
Xia Fei was momentarily speechless. It was obvious that Xia Laoshi and Huo Yutong were only brothers in name and their relationship was anything but good. Hearing how Xia Laoshi got aggrieved made Huo Yutong happier than celebrating new years.
…
Though Huo Yutong was a premier artificer of his generation, he lived very spartanly. His home was simply a wooden hut hidden deep within the forest, sans a single servant in sight. In fact, this elderly artificer had to brew the tea himself whenever he had guests, so the tea set and leaves were too appalling to look at.
Seeing Xia Fei’s look of skepticism, Huo Yutong happily stated, “I’m not like Xia Laoshi, valuing money above all else, only thinking about how to make money as a forger. Hmph!”
Xia Fei nodded repeatedly as he hurriedly praised Huo Yutong’s noble character and integrity, having the strength of character expected of a grandmaster. Naturally, Huo Yutong was very receptive to these praises.
“No, I refuse to believe it,” Oro shook his head and commented. “Currency, the Law Realm doesn’t work like all other places. It runs purely on Origin Energy, so no one will not like the feeling of having a lot of it in their hands. Besides, he’ll normally have to deal with Origin Energy as an artificer, so how can he claim that he dislikes money?”
Xia Fei quietly countered, “That may not be the case. Anyways, the fact that he dislikes money is a good thing for me, for if he sets a skyhigh price, I’ll likely be unable to afford it. Just the materials to construct a Celestial Zerohammer costs a fortune, and there’s no amount of money that can measure the amount of energy needed, either.”
As they chatted, Huo Yutong began to disapprove of how Xia Laoshi conducted his business while describing himself as an worldly expert who was also an aesthete with the purest heart and a lack of secular desires.
The topic changed. At this time, Huo Yutong asked Xia Fei the purpose of his visit.
Xia Fei looked around before replying in a low tone, “The brothers Hua Hei and Hua Bai sent me.”
Huo Yutong was instantly taken aback. The light in his eyes flickered as he urgently asked, “Are my two benefactors still doing alright now?”
Xia Fei answered, “They are fine, though they have no choice but to be on the run.”
Huo Yutong let out a long sigh. There were some things that needed not be said so one would understand. Both parties did not chat further on this, since the two brothers were still being hunted and it was unwise to talk at length about it.
Apparently, Hua Hei and Hua Bai had earned Huo Yutong’s gratitude. In the past, the old man was not the great artificer that he was today. This was why both had directed Xia Fei to Hua Yutong, in hope that the elderly artificer would construct a Celestial Zerohammer on account of the gratefulness he had toward them.
“Heavenly Beast Spirit Pearl!” Huo Yutong heard those four words and became very animated. His expression turned a little sly even as he reached out his hand to remark, “Quick! Quickly show me this mystical pearl!”
