Chapter 501: A hero? Who cares!
“Law of Energy Purification?” Xia Fei frowned as he asked. “How could such a strange Law exist?”
Yuhua chuckled. “There are practically millions of Laws in the universe, and while the Laws of s.p.a.ce, Matter, and Time are known as the Three Great Laws, there are also the Laws of Energy, Black Hole, White Hole, etc. Furthermore, the Law of Energy Purification is but a subset of the Law of Energy, specializing in the transference of energy.
“Laws are profound, and every family, or even everyone, has a different understanding of them. The effects are also varied, and the same warriors practicing the Law of s.p.a.ce will be able to unleash greatly different moves and techniques if their comprehension differs.
“From this point alone, it can be said that the Law Realm is fair to everyone, and whether they are able to have a stronger combat strength will entirely depend on their individual talent and ability to comprehend the said Law.”
Xia Fei nodded, his arm still had the tattoo of the Law of Primal Chaos, which showed that the Three Great Laws were not the only ones that existed in the Law Realm. Actually, Xia Fei wished he could sooner get started on his study and research of Law, but to be able to learn some information from experts like Yujiang and Yuhua was not bad, either, which was why he had patiently listened to them speak.
Furball groggily poked his head out from Xia Fei’s bosom, leaping up onto Xia Fei’s shoulder. When he saw that Yujiang and Yuhua were right across him, Furball angrily bared his fangs at them, having remembered when they had made things difficult for Xia Fei before, clearly not having any fondness for either man.
Xia Fei telepathically commanded Furball to be more humble, and this pet very unwillingly lowered his head, though he still glared at his opponents furiously.
Yujiang and Yuhua seemed to be very satisfied with the state that Furball was currently in, and the two exchanged looks before Yujiang said, “Your beast is growing up well.”
Xia Fei shrugged. “Furball was originally the size of a basketball, but who would have thought it would shrink in size like this? Who knows when it will grow big again?”
Yujiang smiled. “You can’t say that. The higher the grade of an exotic beast, slower its growth rate. You should take care of it well.”
Xia Fei answered, “That is a given.”
Yujiang gave a meaningful nod and threw a glance at Yuhua.
Yuhua got up. “I’ll be bringing you over to report to the base where warriors live and train. Let the Patriarch resume his fis.h.i.+ng.”
Xia Fei got up and said his goodbyes to Yujiang before following Yuhua toward a city in the distance.
The Yu family was situated on a huge wars.h.i.+p, where an artificial sun would rise every day at a set time, and when it set, one could see the twinkling galaxy of stars beyond the protective s.h.i.+eld. Farmland, mountains, and streams were all built onboard the s.h.i.+p’s deck, resembling a real world.
Xia Fei was pleasantly surprised by the many wondrous things he saw along the way. Just from its size alone, this wars.h.i.+p that the Yu family was on should not be much smaller than a t.i.tan, probably as big as an entire planet if stretched out across a plane.
“Families with power in the Law Realm have this sort of mobile base, able to carry everyone as they freely travel through s.p.a.ce. Warriors can’t leave the base without any special reason, and any who wish to do so will require permission and reach where they wish to go through a spatial door. Of course, the use of a spatial door costs money, and the price differs according to the distance.” Yujiang pointed to a huge semi-circle structure on the outskirts of the city.
“As for this city, it is a place where warriors stay and train, and the cities even further out are where family members live. Right now, your status is that of a Law disciple, not a true Law Warrior yet. There will be an a.s.sessment every three months, and pa.s.sing it means that you will acquire the moniker of a Law Warrior and will have an increased freedom in mobility. Your monthly stipend will also be much better, too.”
The city that Yuhua was referring to appeared to be of a very ancient style, and it had a huge disparity when compared to the surprisingly modern wars.h.i.+p that they were just on. It looked very much like a citadel built in the middle ages, with high city walls, narrow streets, and even a moat circling it.
There were many who greeted Yuhua as they walked down the city street, and it was apparent that this shrewd merchant was pretty popular with others.
“I’m a merchant, and these warriors will often seek me to buy things. Don’t forget to contact me if you wish to acquire some goods that you have trouble finding here in the Yu family by the way.” Yuhua flashed Xia Fei a sneaky smile as he said this.
“Are these all warriors?” Xia Fei asked.
Yuhua answered, “That’s right. Seventy percent of the Yu family’s combat strength is gathered here, while the rest are all performing duties outside. A majority of them are the family’s internal disciples born here in the Law Realm. They all have decent bloodlines, able to get twice the result with half the effort when learning Law. Then there are some talented individuals that the Yu family have picked up from the Alliance, though there aren’t many of them. You’ll be staying with these other disciples from the Alliance.”
Xia Fei nodded. There would at least be some common ground staying with warriors who were also from the Alliance. Xia Fei felt that such an arrangement was not too bad, but what he did not notice was the somewhat strange smile across Yuhua’s face.
He obtained the stipend from the family at the equipment depot: three Purple Origin Crystals, a suit of metal armor, and a black token which was his ID.
The Origin Crystals were at least of some use to Xia Fei, but Xia Fei did not even spare a glance at the armor. It was at best of the Star River grade, and it was nothing compared to what he had on.
The place he was staying was very remote, a lone two-story building. The street was dark and the buildings around looked very desolate and abandoned.
On the first floor were several rather young Law disciples. They were all gathered discussing something, and when these people saw Xia Fei enter, they stood up and stared at him with fairly unfriendly eyes. Xia Fei flashed them a faint smile as he followed Yuhua up the second floor and located his own room.
There was a wooden single bed with one wooden chair and table. The room itself was cramped and dimly lit, though Xia Fei barely batted an eyelid over such terrible living conditions.
“The life of a Law disciple is hard. You’ll have your own place once you become a true Law Warrior. For now, you’ll have to bear with this.” Yuhua comforted him.
With a brush of his spatial ring, Yuhua took out ten Purple Origin Crystals and gave them to him.
“Just the two Grade 2 Origin Crystals a month are surely not enough. Take these first and contact me if you have any further needs.”
Xia Fei took these crystals with a word of thanks, and Yuhua chuckled. “These will all be recorded on your bill, and you can repay me in the future when you’re rich.”
Xia Fei cursed Yuhua for his shrewd ways in his heart, but he still showed his easy smile. Yuhua then casually offered Xia Fei words of caution before turning to leave.
Xia Fei took out Pod from his spatial ring and set him to work. The housekeeper robot almost cried when he saw the dirty room, unable to bear with the fact that Xia Fei would have to live in such a place.
Pod lowered his head and began cleaning, while Furball had already collapsed onto the bed and was sound asleep. This heartless beast cared only for its own food and sleep, not sparing even a thought for Xia Fei’s present situation.
“Master, wait outside for a while. The place will get very dirty as I clean this place up,” Pod said to Xia Fei.
Xia Fei nodded, turning around to go down the stairs and head into the common room. Those Law disciples from before were still gathered, having a chat with one other. Xia Fei got himself seated where no one else was and picked up a newspaper on the table to read.
“Law Realm news?” Xia Fei muttered to himself. “To think that there would also be newspapers here in the Law Realm.”
Xia Fei was somewhat intrigued as he folded it open and took a look. He noticed that there was plenty of information regarding the Law Realm on it, such as which disciple from which family had promoted to be a Law Sovereigns, and there was even gossip about how a certain Law Warrior had found himself a mistress, et cetera.
Xia Fei briefly skimmed through the pages, learning that aside from Law Warriors, there were also Law Sovereigns, Law Emperors, and other t.i.tles. It seemed like these were the higher tiers among Law Adepts.
This was when he suddenly heard an acrimonious voice call his name.
“Xia Fei?”
Lifting his head, he saw that it was the fatty among the group who had called his name. This person was roughly above twenty-five or twenty-six years old, his face completely pockmarked and his long hair as disheveled as a chicken coop. His small beady eyes were leering as he sized him up and down.
Xia Fei nodded, surprised. “You know me?”
The pockmarked fatty appeared to be excited as he yelled, “Everyone, come look! It’s really Xia Fei! The great hero who infiltrated the insectoids all by himself!”
Xia Fei was slightly delighted. These people were all from the Alliance, and while Xia Fei was a nameless n.o.body in the Law Realm, he was a household name to everyone in the Alliance. It was fairly normal for these people to have recognized him.
This one shout caused a flurry of movement from all the Law disciples in the entire floor. Everyone made their way to the common room and stared at Xia Fei as if they were looking at a pet.
“It really is Xia Fei. I’ve seen plenty of his deeds when I was in the Alliance.”
“How did this rascal make it to the Law Realm, too?”
A bespectacled skinny man observed Xia Fei for some time before saying, “That’s strange. His seventh brain region is severely damaged, making him practically useless. How did he find his way here to the Law Realm?”
“It’s very serious. Most of the cells around the edges of the region are already dead, so there’s no way for him to cultivate and be promoted at this rate.”
“This man’s a cripple. Definitely.”
The veins on Xia Fei’s forehead bulged. He did not remember when was the last time he had been embarra.s.sed by another, and the tone of these people was hardly courteous at all.
“Hey, are you someone who depended on taking drugs to promote till Legendary rank?” asked a pale-faced young man lightly. Everyone agreed with his words, and he seemed to be the leader of these Law disciples.
Xia Fei nodded, his expression dark.
Laughter!
Raucous laughter!
Even a fool could tell that they were ridiculing him without concealing it!
“So the great hero Xia Fei from the Alliance is no more than a cripple who depended on drugs to get promoted!”
“I never would have guessed. I even thought that this guy was some genius, but in the end, he’s actually just a druggie.”
Xia Fei balled up his fists tightly. Pride was a man’s bottomline, and it was something a warrior would defend to the death!
Alas, today, Xia Fei’s pride had been surrept.i.tiously tossed into the drain by these people, and it had even been stomped on harshly. What he could not understand was why these people were doing their utmost to ridicule him upon meeting him for the first time. It was as if they had a grudge against him.
“You guys sure can talk, but that’s nothing compared to true ability. Do you all want to come at me at once, or one by one?” Xia Fei brushed his cold gaze along everyone present, his killing intent obvious!
The pale-faced youth took two steps forward and asked in a mocking tone, “Don’t think you’re so great. Hero? You’re just a hero in the Alliance, that of the commoners, get it? Commoners. Do you know why none of us here did anything when the insectoids attacked? Because we’re destined to be a mighty Law Warrior, and only a cuckold like you would act on behalf of the strugglers in the Alliance.”
“You’re nothing but a cripple with a ruined seventh brain region; do you really think that you’re anyone important here? The dormitories prohibit personal fights, so I hope that you’ll show such verve during training tomorrow. Don’t end up getting beaten down to the ground by yours truly in three punches.”