Chapter 422: Primal Chaos a.s.sessment
Right after Xia Fei left the reception hall, the elders surrounded Qingliu and began to question him. All of them were senior figures of the Guild of the Wise, a group of stubborn old pedants who had considerable status in their faction.
“Qingliu, how could you agree to work with a human just like that? Giving him independence will pose a huge threat to us.”
“That’s right! What if he leaks information about us? Uti will be furious! It won’t be just us; all our families will suffer, too!”
“He’s a human, not a member of our race. No matter what, there’s no way I can trust a human!”
Qingliu furrowed his brows, apparently annoyed by these stubborn old fools. He then made a self-mocking laugh and shook his head. “It’s precisely because of you and all your needless fears that the Guild of the Wise has never been able to become anything. I now understand why the Sacred Guild is deeply trusted by the insectoids while we grow weaker by the day.”
This Guild of the Wise was overthinking things. This had been their habit since ancient times. This was not to say that overthinking was bad, but too many misgivings would eventually lead to wasted opportunities in battle, excessive hesitation, and a lack of decisiveness.
Qingliu spoke in a heavy tone. He had been planning Uti’s a.s.sa.s.sination for over a decade, but he had always been unable to execute it for a variety of reasons. One could even say that nothing about it was going right, but in reality, everyone knew that the greatest impediment were the misgivings from the senior figures of the Guild of the Wise.
Qingliu intentionally coughed twice. These senior figures wielded considerable influence, and though he was the leader of the intellectuals, he could not offend them too much.
“Everyone, there’s no need to be too worried. We all should be aware that none of us is the right being to kill Uti. Putting aside the matter of cultivation, if we fail, none of us will be able to take responsibility, and if we succeed, we have no guarantees, too. If news got out that we’re behind everything, we would be cursed and criticized by the other members of our race, and our families would be humiliated. Fortunately, the G.o.ds have opened their eyes and sent us that unfathomable human warrior. No matter what, we must use him to take on this heavy responsibility of killing Uti.”
The elders nodded. They had no objections on this point. They were neither able nor willing to kill Uti, so an outsider like Xia Fei was the finest choice, but they found it difficult to accept making Xia Fei their equal, sharing with him their intelligence and resources.
Pausing a moment, Qingliu continued. “The highest level test of the machine left behind by the Black and White G.o.ds, the Initial Formation of Primal Chaos, is a test I’m sure everyone has heard of. Since ancient times, no member of the insectoid race has been able to pa.s.s it.”
Halleh was stunned. “Brother Qingliu, are you having Xia Fei take the Primal Chaos a.s.sessment? That’s a little too sinister. Doesn’t he basically have no chance?”
Qingliu chuckled. “Sinister? We’ve schemed for so many years and never succeeded precisely because we haven’t been sinister and vicious enough! We don’t need such emotions, and you didn’t give Uti your daughter! Who here can understand my pain?!”
The elders lowered their heads and fell silent. In dealing with Uti, the majority of them merely shouted words, and the most they could do was offer money and resources, but for this matter, Qingliu had put up his wife’s life and his daughter’s body, far more than any of them. This was why he was the leader of the Guild of the Wise, and why his words held more weight.
“This should set all of you at ease, yes? I don’t believe that a little human can pa.s.s the Initial Formation of Primal Chaos a.s.sessment. His arrogance is too much, and he needs to be beaten down a little so that we can use him. Through this trial, we can grind down his spirit and have him sincerely want to serve us, accomplis.h.i.+ng two things at once. This is a risk-free exchange.”
Everyone nodded. If it was the Initial Formation of Primal Chaos a.s.sessment, they had no complaints. None of them believed that Xia Fei could pa.s.s it.
Halleh sighed. “When the Black and White G.o.ds left behind this machine, they said the Primal Chaos a.s.sessment can only be run nine times. After nine times, regardless if anyone pa.s.ses, it will shut down. The Primal Chaos a.s.sessment is only run for the most outstanding individuals.
“Over the last several thousand years, six of the most outstanding talents of our race took this test, but all of them, including High Priest Ryun, were defeated. It’s actually a great honor to give Xia Fei one of these chances.”
Qingliu smiled. “Brother Halleh, I know that you’re still thinking about trying to take the Primal Chaos a.s.sessment in your lifetime, but with this great foe before us, we must make some sacrifices. Moreover, even High Priest Ryun failed; what do you think your chances are?”
Halleh was rather cheerful, heartily laughing. “Brother Qingliu is right. In truth, it’s always just been a dream of mine to see what sort of test it is. As for pa.s.sing, there’s naturally no hope. In any case, once Xia Fei is done, there will still be two more chances. How could I have any objections?”
Qingliu nodded. He looked around at the others, but it now appeared that no one else had any objections.
At this time, a bald elder, who had said nothing the entire time, suddenly asked, “Then what if Xia Fei pa.s.ses the test?”
The reception hall was quiet, then it exploded with laughter as if everyone had heard the most amusing joke.
Halleh held his stomach and laughed. “Impossible. Absolutely not.”
…
Xia Fei waited in the adjacent room for a while. Once the discussions were over, Halleh led Xia Fei out. He had a strange look in his eyes, and for a moment, Xia Fei could not tell what he was thinking. Perhaps there was a hint of schadenfreude.
“These fellows seem to be acting differently now? Perhaps they’ve finished planning everything out and are just waiting for you to walk into it? If we knew this earlier, it would be better not to take part in this test,” Phantom said.
Xia Fei casually replied, “It’s a machine left by the G.o.d race. Even just getting a look at it is fine. I might not get another chance like this if I miss this out.”
Phantom snorted. “Curiosity killed the cat. That’s a saying you Earthlings have. When are you going to stop being so curious? You always want to look at something, or research something. If you keep this up, you’ll run into trouble one day.”
Xia Fei’s curiosity was not just heavy; it was extremely heavy!
Of course, his curiosity was only in things he was interested in. For example, he would find no interest in neighborhood gossip. Phantom had always had an ambiguous stance toward Xia Fei’s curiosity. After all, this curiosity had brought both opportunities and problems to Xia Fei.
Xia Fei pursed his lips. “I’m here in this world to walk around, and what would truly be a loss is if I don’t learn anything or see anything. Even if I lose, I don’t lose out on much. At the very least, I will be able to see a machine left behind by the legendary G.o.d race and take part in a test left by those mysterious beings.”
Phantom said no more. Reality proved that once Xia Fei made up his mind, it was not easily changed, and attempting to persuade him further was a wasted effort. Furball lazily yawned, caring nothing about what was going on and falling into a slumber.
In the mountain was a pyramid-shaped room. Halleh and Xia Fei went in. The room was empty, the walls and floor made of some very flashy silver metal that made one feel dizzy just by looking.
“When the a.s.sessment begins, the surroundings will change and pull you into a virtual environment. As for what to do, there will be someone inside to tell you.”
Halleh was just about to leave when Xia Fei tugged him. “Where’s that machine left by the G.o.ds?”
Halleh laughed. “You saw that giant black mountain more than ten thousand meters high, right?”
“I did.”
“That mountain is the machine left by the Black and White G.o.ds. There are two parts: a black mountain and a white mountain.”
Xia Fei blurted out in shock, “That entire mountain more than ten thousand meters tall is a machine?!”
Halleh nodded. “Correct.”
“What sort of a.s.sessment will I be taking? What are the contents? How long will it take?”
Halleh laughed. “How would I know? I’ve never taken it before.”
Xia Fei frowned. Not even Halleh knew the contents of the test? Was there something fishy going on here?
Halleh quickly realized that he had misspoken, casually saying, “In any case, you can relax. The a.s.sessment is very safe. We still hope that you can remove Uti for us.”
After saying that, Halleh turned and left.
*Whoos.h.!.+*
The walls and floor lit up! The temperature in the room also began to rise. Surrounded by light, Xia Fei could hardly open his eyes, and even Furball grunted unhappily.
*Zing!*
Xia Fei felt his body tremble, and then the light vanished. His footing was rather unstable, as if he was stepping on a cloud.
Opening his eyes, Xia Fei saw that he was in a vast universe. There was an earthen yellow planet nearby. It was as if he was standing on the moon and looking down at Earth.
“You’re not an insectoid?” A shrill voice rang out from Xia Fei’s side.
Turning to look, he saw a short figure in black curiously looking at him.
This was like a circle together with a triangle. This short figure had no arms or legs, but his face had all the regular facial features. He also had a little domed hat on his head.
The pitch-black eyes made Xia Fei uncomfortable, so he asked, “I’m human. Who are you?”
“You are the seventh person to partic.i.p.ate in the G.o.d of Night’s Primal Chaos a.s.sessment. You may call me Seven,” said the short figure. He casually added, “To give such a precious chance to an outsider, the insectoids must’ve gone crazy.”
Though this was not said very loudly, Xia Fei heard everything. However, he remained silent. He still knew nothing about this so-called a.s.sessment.
“I am a soul that the G.o.d of Night left here a long, long time ago, and I am the supervisor for this a.s.sessment.”
Seven waved his hand, and Xia Fei was taken from the universe to the surface of the yellow planet. Nearby was a large city made of earthen yellow stones, the streets wide and packed with living beings.
“Come with me.”
Seven waved his hand and walked into the city with Xia Fei. The pedestrians on the street were a mixture of insectoids and Tulons. They lived together in harmony, and all was calm and peaceful, everyone with their proper duty and place. He had seemingly returned to that long-ago era in which the insectoids and Tulons coexisted.
A pa.s.serby would occasionally look at Xia Fei, but there was no hostility or curiosity. It was as if they were accustomed to his existence.
“This is a virtual planet. Including me, there are 999,999,999 inhabitants. The contents of the a.s.sessment are very simple. In a little while, I will become one of them. You just have to find me within seven days to pa.s.s.”
Xia Fei frowned. “I have to find you out of one hundred million people?”
Seven craftily smiled. “This planet’s surface isn’t that large, and there are no underground buildings. All of the virtual inhabitants live on the surface. I could be a butcher selling meat or a gardener taking care of flowers. How you find me will depend on your abilities. Obtaining a reward from the G.o.d of Night is no simple matter. You must put forth at least some effort.”
“A reward from the G.o.d of Night?” Xia Fei curiously asked.