Chapter 588: The death-hastening a.s.sessment begins!
Aura was something that was very hard to describe, and Xia Fei was concealing a murderous aura.
Though he normally seemed very witty and meticulous, like some happy-go-lucky person, anyone who truly attempted to test his bottom line would not meet a very good end.
The knife that this freckled fellow from the Brightsea Clan had taken out was not very sharp, and the hilt was studded with expensive jewels of various dazzling colors. This was truly a scion of a wealthy clan, for even his knife had so much work put into it.
Xia Fei’s aura instantly changed when that knife was taken out. Initially, he had regarded this freckled man as a crazed dog, and Xia Fei was not one to stoop to a crazed dog’s level. However, now that this crazed dog bared its fangs at him, he naturally needed to give it a good beating.
His eyes turned sharp and vicious. This cold and indifferent gaze of his was something that Xia Fei had developed through numerous lethal battles. Coupled with the sudden increase in killing intent, it caused that freckled and plump face on the other side to twitch.
“Kid, you’re seeking death!”
With a flash, the knife pushed for Xia Fei’s throat!
Xia Fei stroked his hand across his spatial ring, and a knife appeared in his hand. It was the October Flying Snow!
Xia Fei did not want to reveal the cruel Blood Crystal out in the open. Besides, while his opponent’s knife was incredibly extravagant, it was so fragile that it could not take even a single blow. Xia Fei would have never used it himself, as in his eyes, a knife had only one purpose: to kill! He would have no interest in a knife that could not kill no matter how extravagant it was.
*Bang!*
The blades of the knives met, and with a crack, October Flying Snow sliced through that beautiful knife as easily as if it had been cutting melons!
The knife showed no signs of stopping, and before the freckled man could react, October Flying Snow had already returned to Xia Fei’s ring!
Xia Fei moved far too quickly. n.o.body was able to make out what had just happened. The next thing they knew, the freckled man and his seven cronies had already fallen to the ground! Each one had a faint line across their neck.
Sly Thrust!
This was the cla.s.sic Sly Thrust, killing without drawing blood, the greatest a.s.sa.s.sination technique of the a.s.sa.s.sin Sect!
“Xia Fei, how could you kill someone from one of the Nine Great Clans! We’re done for this time! I think that you should start running. If those bigshots find out what you did, it will be a disaster!” Phantom frantically said.
Xia Fei frowned and sternly said, “It’s not right.”
“What’s not right?”
“These people were too weak,” Xia Fei said.
Phantom was startled. Xia Fei was right. While the freckled man had been very aggressive, he had had no strength at all. At most, he had been a common Law Warrior, and his subordinates were even worse. They were no different from random gangsters on the streets, and Xia Fei did not even break a sweat killing them.
In the circle, where strength was so revered, someone who dared to make a challenge with this level of strength was suicidal!
“Murder!”
“Xia Fei killed members of the Brightsea Clan!”
“Let’s get out of here! Don’t want the Nine Great Clans to vent their anger on us.”
Those candidates from minor clans were shocked as could be and began to leave. Ludi, after a moment of hesitation, decided to continue standing at Xia Fei’s side, putting on a righteous face. Surprisingly, this fellow was rather loyal.
*Clap! Clap! Clap!*
Clapping came from behind them, and then the white-robed Zanian Feng walked out with a smile.
“He’s Zanian Feng, the most brilliant individual of the younger generation of Dragon Ascension Martial Hall’s Feng Clan,” Ludi whispered to Xia Fei.
Ludi was actually a rather good person. It was just that he talked too much. He had already told Xia Fei about Zanian Feng’s appearance throughout the a.s.sessment several times, so Xia Fei already knew about this famous individual.
“Excellent work! They actually got off lucky, only getting death for daring to impersonate themselves as members of the Nine Great Clans,” Zanian Feng coolly said.
Everyone was aghast. Zanian Feng claimed that these brash fellows had just been pretending?
Xia Fei was also startled. He had already noticed that something was strange when he attacked, but he had not expected that these people were just impersonating the Brightsea Clan. Pretending to be part of the Nine Great Clans was very risky, anyone discovered doing so would die without a grave.
These people had been so audacious to pretend as part of the Brightsea Clan and then challenge him in front of Dragon Ascension Martial Hall.
Zanian Feng squatted and picked up the emblem on the freckled man’s chest.
*Pa!*
With a slight exertion of strength, the emblem exploded into powder!
“True clan emblems are made from the tough and beautiful Salamis Alloy. These emblems were all fake, as were the people,” Zanian Feng breezily said. “Trying to act as members from the Nine Great Clans? Such audacity! Take these bodies away and feed them to the dogs!”
As if they had been waiting this entire time, several strong men immediately emerged and cleaned up the eight corpses.
Xia Fei creased his brows even more. This entire event seemed off, though he momentarily could not understand why.
Ludi sighed in relief and placed a hand on his heart, as did the other candidates. If Xia Fei had really killed a member of the Nine Great Clans, the consequences would have been too gruesome to imagine.
“I’m Zanian Feng.”
“Xia Fei.”
“You were swift with your handiwork moments ago.”
“It’s just a habit.”
Zanian Feng smiled. “These people who pretended to be part of the Brightsea Clan are dead, and Dragon Ascension Martial Hall will take care of the rest. There’s no need fro you to worry.”
Xia Fei stared at Zanian Feng and questioned, “Why were these people so bold with their disguises? Also, how did they know that I wasn’t on good terms with the Mu Clan and challenge me using Mu Fuping’s name? None of those makes sense.”
There was a hint of surprise in Zanian Feng’s eyes as he smiled and said, “I don’t get it, either, but forget them. There are tons of weirdos in this world. Perhaps these fellows were on drugs or something.”
“Maybe,” Xia Fei said, unmoved. “In any case, I must thank Young Master Feng for helping me expose those evildoers.”
…
“I was almost exposed,” Zanian Feng said after he had returned to Busey’s room. Wiping off some cold sweat, he said, “Xia Fei’s a.n.a.lytical abilities are formidable. He immediately noticed that there was a problem.”
Busey coldly said, his face unfl.u.s.tered, “The acting was clumsy, so don’t blame others for noticing something wrong. How could there be anyone who would be so bold as to pretend to be part of the Nine Great Clans?”
Zanian Feng said, “It’s precisely because no one dared to do such a thing that I had those hoodlums do it. You saw the result. I have no doubts about Xia Fei’s resolve now. If it really had been someone from the Brightsea Clan standing on the other side, he would have done the same thing.”
Busey nodded. “He truly is sufficiently fierce and vicious. Who else have you selected besides Xia Fei?”
Zanian Feng handed Busey a long list of names. Each name had a note after it that described their background, cultivation, and special attributes.
“You seem to have put in a lot of work in this. I hope that your eyes aren’t wrong,” Busey said.
Zanian Feng replied, “This is the first important job my father entrusted to me, so I naturally must do my best to accomplish it. I wouldn’t be able to explain myself to him otherwise.”
Busey put away the list and sternly said, “Dragon Ascension is Dragon Ascension because no one has ever been able to see through our true criteria for selection. They have no idea that the true a.s.sessment has already begun.”
Zanian Feng shrugged. “The candidates are quite pitiful, believing that the score decides everything. Little do they know that we don’t even look at it.”
In a rare sight, Busey cracked half of a smile. He and Zanian Feng were like two crafty foxes, old and young, hiding in the shadows as they watched and chose.
“These names on your list will be made to undergo the most difficult test on deck. As for whether they can pa.s.s, that will depend on their luck and their strength,” Busey said.
Zanian Feng nodded, a sharp glint in his eyes. “The true a.s.sessment is finally about to begin!”
…
The next day, Xia Fei and Lu Di arrived on time at Dragon Ascension Martial Hall, the same as the other ten thousand or so candidates.
Not even in their dreams would these warriors, who hoped to one day enter Dragon Ascension, think that the vast majority of them had already been eliminated, even though the a.s.sessment had yet to conclude.
The more than ten thousand warriors proudly stood on the testing ground. None of them knew what sort of a.s.sessment would be coming next, and their hearts were uneasy with fear and trepidation.
Lu Qiuyan coldly came onto stage, sternly saying, “The final three a.s.sessments will be merged together, and the location and method will also be different. Each spatial gate has names next to it. Please enter the testing ground according to your name. I wish you good luck!”
After these short opening remarks, the candidates began to enter their respective spatial gates. Lu Di had been a.s.signed to the third spatial gate, while Xia Fei had been a.s.signed to eleven.
“So we were separated this time? How disappointing,” Ludi grumbled. He thought that Xia Fei would bring him good luck, so he was unwilling to be parted from him.
Through the spatial gate was a platform made of alloy and with a diameter of more than ten kilometers. It had been built by the beach, and behind it was a steep cliff that faced the sea. It was quite the lovely scenery.
Xia Fei pa.s.sed through the gate early, and he needed to wait for all the candidates to enter before the exam could begin. Thus, he lit a cigarette and quietly waited in a corner.
“Strange,” Xia Fei muttered to himself as he shook his head.
“What’s strange?” Phantom curiously asked.
“Look. All of the Law Emperor experts are here, and the rest are all the tough and vicious characters.”
Just like what Xia Fei had said, this group he had been a.s.signed to was a terrifying one. Around fifty of the warriors taking the initial a.s.sessment had Law Emperor cultivation, and all of them had been a.s.signed to his group. The remainder, while somewhat inferior in cultivation, were all still experts! Many of them were also fellows who had pa.s.sed the secret exam with Xia Fei.
This was only the beginning. When the proctor entered, the situation reached its climax!
A dark-skinned man wearing a black armor appeared; after which, the spatial gate closed, sealing off the testing ground.
“I am Busey, the proctor for this group,” Busey tersely said.
“The Four Heavenly Kings! One of the Four Heavenly Kings of Dragon Ascension is our proctor?!”
“No way? Isn’t this only the initial a.s.sessment? Why is one of the Four Heavenly Kings showing up?”
The candidates chattered, all of them stunned. Xia Fei did not recognize Busey, but he could tell from the surrounding conversations that this dark-skinned man held an extremely high status.
“There are King Kong Eels in this sea. You have one hour to hunt them down. The pa.s.sing score is 100! Your time starts now!” Busey glanced down at his timer as he sternly spoke.
Everyone was taken aback. The exam had begun just like that, without any sort of opening remarks?
King Kong Eels were a kind of extremely powerful aquatic exotic beast. Killing one hundred of them in one hour? This meant killing one every thirty-six seconds! Were these conditions not too harsh?
“Not starting yet? Does none of you want to get into Dragon Ascension Martial Hall?” Busey casually asked.
*Splas.h.!.+ Splas.h.!.+*
Only now did the candidates frantically jump into the cold waters, not even attempting to complain.
Killing one hundred King Kong Eels in an hour? This was not an a.s.sessment! This was practically hurrying them to their death!