Xia Fei was left alone in the tent with the three leaders. The incident from earlier had left the mood somewhat tense.
Tie Mujin, Huang Lingtian, and Hu Bei were all very old people. When it came to Law God warriors, the only way to kill them was to destroy their Seeds of Life. Xia Fei guessed that these old monsters had lived for tens of thousands of years!
The more temperamental Hu Bei felt unhappy just by looking at Xia Fei, so he sullenly looked away, while Huang Lingtian was the sly fox, revealing nothing, fiddling with his fingers in front of Xia Fei as he calculated something.
Intentionally coughing, Tie Mujin sternly said, “Let’s forget about that incident from earlier. Xia Fei represents the Skywing Clan, and no one has the right to disrespect another person’s clan.”
Xia Fei liked hearing this, and he inspected Tie Mujin through narrowed eyes. This old man had a kind face, a smile on his lips. He was clearly much better to work with than the sly Huang Lingtian and the irascible Hu Bei. He appeared like a genial old man, who seemed very compassionate, at least on the surface.
Hu Bei coldly snorted, very reluctantly nodding his head. Meanwhile, Huang Lingtian gave Xia Fei a forced smile. With this, the matter was considered settled.
Xia Fei realized to his surprise that, though the three all had the title of leader, Tie Mujin clearly outranked the other two. Even though he was doing his utmost to act like he was an ordinary person, from how the other two acted, Xia Fei could tell that Tie Mujin actually had absolute authority over the Rebels.
After pausing, Tie Mujin continued speaking. “The three of us are very familiar with your clan’s grand ancestor, Xia Gucheng, having interacted with him for quite some time in the Palace of Gods. Later on, we got sick of the surreptitious way of doings in the Palace of Gods and took our clans out of the Law Realm.”
This was a rather frank self-introduction. Xia Fei smiled and said, “My name is Xia Fei. I have come today on the grand ancestor’s orders to represent the Skywings.”
Xia Fei’s introduction was much simpler. He only gave his name, mentioning nothing about his experience, cultivation, or status in his clan.
Tie Mujin slightly frowned. He smiled and said, “Since my young brother has come representing the Skywing Clan, what are Xia Gucheng’s demands?”
Xia Fei indifferently said, “Senior Tie, this isn’t an appropriate question. The Skywings are taking an enormous risk by meeting with you. Shouldn’t you be somewhat more sincere?”
Negotiations could be compared to Taichi. The person who lost their patience first would have to pay the price, and Xia Fei was a master of Taichi. After all, he had played the ruthless businessman before, and he understood how the minds of people like Tie Mujin worked.
Since the grand ancestor had given Xia Fei such a heavy responsibility, he would make decisions based on his own standards. First, everything was negotiable, but nothing could be negotiated too stubbornly, so that would leave margin for negotiation. Second, he would fight to maximize the benefits of the clan!
Even if there really came a day where the Skywings could no longer stay in the Law Realm and they joined the Rebels, they would have to do so while standing tall! They could not lose the majesty of the Demon-sealing Fiendish Blade.
After several exchanges, Tie Mujin began to frown. He suddenly realized that this young man had an experience that did not suit his age. He said what he needed to say and did not say a word of what he should not say. No matter what traps he laid, Xia Fei refused to walk into them, and if he was not careful, he would end up walking into one of Xia Fei’s traps.
Gradually growing frustrated, Tie Mujin said, “Xia Gucheng wants to know why the Cosmic Gate has become a taboo subject, and this is something that we, the Rebels, have been investigating for many years. In short, the two peak races have been concealing this matter to everyone!
“I can tell Xia Gucheng the truth, tell him about the awful acts of the Palace of Gods, that until these parasites are overthrown, the Law Realm will never know peace. What about it? Is that sincere enough?”
Xia Fei calmly asked, “And the condition?”
“The condition is that once we tell your grand ancestor about all the crimes of the Palace of Gods, he must immediately take his clan out of the Law Realm to join the Rebels, no longer mixing with those dregs from the Palace of Gods.” Tie Mujin slightly learned forward, his eyes flashing.
Xia Fei made no expression after hearing this. He stood up and stretched his shoulders before smiling and saying, “I’m very tired after this long journey, so I’m going to rest for a bit. Let’s talk some more tomorrow.”
When the time came for Xia Fei to talk, he decided to run off?
The three leaders had an instant reaction, with the temperamental Hu Bei jeering, “Hmph! What plenipotentiary? Just go back and call over that old monster from your clan!”
Xia Fei replied in a tone that was neither humble nor proud, “Alright, if that’s how you want it, I’ll give it to you straight. The Skywings will never agree to such a condition. You should go back and think about it.”
“Why?” Tie Mujin hastily asked.
“Why? Because the person who can control the Skywings hasn’t been born yet! Not the two races, and not the Rebels. We must join the Rebel camp? As if! The Demon-sealing Fiendish Blade recognizes no one except the people of the clan!” Xia Fei explained. “If you can’t accept the style of the Skywings, then it’s best if we just end things here.”
*Zing~*
Hu Bei stood up and shouted, “For what reason can you make decisions for your clan’s old monster? Relay our message and have Xia Gucheng answer himself!”
“That won’t be necessary. Since I’m the clan’s plenipotentiary, I can answer for the grand ancestor right now! If you want to ask him, go and ask him yourself!” Seeing how Hu Bei was being so intimidating, Xia Fei dropped his courtesy, and the air in the tent once more became tense.
At this moment Tie Mujin stood up, said that Xia Fei was tired, and told him to go back so that they could talk tomorrow. Hu Bei was dissatisfied, but he had no choice but to agree.
After watching Xia Fei leave, Hu Bei sighed. “Old Tie, I told you that the Skywings wouldn’t accept this condition. Xia Fei is just an ordinary member of the Skywings, and his mood changed almost instantly. If it were that stubborn camel Xia Gucheng, he would probably have already started a fight!”
Tie Mujin had no reaction, only looking at Huang Lingtian. This old man had said nothing this entire time, just sitting there like Mount Tai.
“What do you think?” Tie Mujin asked.
After some thought, Huang Lingtian softly said, “He’s not easy to deal with. Whether it’s Xia Gucheng or Xia Fei, they’re both people who are unmoved by both force and persuasion. It will be very difficult to get anything from this.”
Tie Mujin nodded, his face grimacing. The forthright Hu Bei sighed. “If the Demon-sealing Fiendish Blade joined us, we would be able to contend against the guardians. If we can’t get the Skywings, we won’t be able to deal with with those watch dogs, let alone the two supreme races. What’s the point of Rebels who can’t rebel against anything?”
Huang Lingtian suddenly narrowed his eyes, his right fist clenching.
Tie Mujin and Hu Bei were both astonished. Hu Bei exclaimed in shock, “Old Huang, isn’t that too much?!”
…
The Black and White Gods had personally sent Xia Fei to his residence, asking him how the negotiations had gone. Xia Fei spoke in vague terms, saying to Hua Hei and Hua Bai that this was an extremely important matter that he could not decide on his own.
Blinking, Xia Fei suddenly put on a strange face and told the Gods of Black and White, “A good bird knows how to pick its nest, as I’m sure the two of you understand.”
Hua Hei was a crude man and thought Xia Fei was talking about the Skywings, so he nodded in agreement, but Hua Bai was stunned and his eyes glinted.
Saying that he needed to rest, Xia Fei bid farewell to Hua Bai and Hua Hei.
Radix asked in confusion, “Did you mention that a good bird knows how to picks its nest for Hua Hei and Hua Bai to hear?”
Xia Fei nodded.
Radix curiously asked, “Why did you say that? Did you notice something fishy?”
Xia Fei sneered. “This really is a reenactment of the Hongmen Feast. Let me ask you one question. If Grand Ancestor Xia Gucheng really came, who would be first in the hierarchy here?”
“This…” Radix thought about it and then sternly said, “That old monster from your clan is even willing to flip the tables in the Palace of Gods. No one here would be able to control him, so the venerable ancestor would naturally want to have say over the Rebels.”
Xia Fei then asked, “Then do you think that those three, Tie Mujin, Huang Lingtian, and Hu Bei, would be willing to relinquish their power?”
Radix shook his head. “That’s not very possible. They’re the ones who established the Rebels, and they’ve put a lot of sweat and blood into it. Who would be willing to hand over their army to someone else?”
Xia Fei sighed and said, “That’s exactly it. While that Hu Bei fellow is the loudest, he’s actually the one who wants the Skywings to join the most, while Tie Mujin fears that the Skywings will usurp him once we arrive. I’m sure that cunning fox Huang Lingtian thinks the same.
“Tie Mujin also said that he had worked with the grand ancestor in the Palace of Gods for many years. I can understand the old man’s personality without even meeting him, so how could Tie Mujin not? That proposal to join them without any conditions is absolute nonsense! Even thinking with my feet, I know that the grand ancestor will never accept such unequal terms.
“Thus, they’re only acting friendly with the Skywings to satisfy the urgent requests of their subordinates below, who want to increase their fighting power. The Rebels do lack for people, but they don’t lack for experts like the grand ancestor! What they lack is people who can sacrifice their lives but who won’t try to seize power!
“As for the Black and White Gods, I can only grieve for them. It’s clear that the leaders of the Rebel camp is very petty. Being with them won’t end very prettily, so I gave them a warning.”
Radix was startled, and he looked in shock at Xia Fei. “So you already saw through Hu Bei and the other two?! No wonder you refused them so cleanly!”
It must be said that Xia Fei truly had an astounding ability to see through people. Even old monsters who had lived for tens of thousands of years could not escape his eyes.
The look in their eyes, the way they moved, and some thought as to how both sides stood to benefit allowed him to conjecture quickly and easily what the other side was really thinking. Even Radix had to express his admiration for Xia Fei’s ability to read people.
After inspecting the tent, Xia Fei took out the Precious Brilliance Space and the soul device. “Let’s not waste time. Since you’ve already agreed, let’s work through the night to forge the Soul-devouring Divine Weapon.”
Radix was startled. “Here? This is the territory of the Rebels! Plus, have you already decided which weapon you’re going to modify into a Soul-devouring Divine Weapon?”
Xia Fei casually said, “Relax. The more dangerous the place is, the safer it is. Besides, I represent the Skywing Clan, so they’ll never dare to touch me. As for the foundation for the Soul-devouring Divine Weapon, let’s use this.”
Xia Fei placed the bloodthirsty and crazed Blood Crystal on the ground.
