Chapter 602: Snowdrift Clan
The Dragon Ascension Conclave. The human species’ initial a.s.sessment had ended. The first 100 candidates were awarded the chance to partic.i.p.ate in the overall examination and compete with the elites of the Nine Great Clans.
After that would be the second-stage examination against the elites of other species before one could finally officially be admitted to join the Dragon Ascension Martial Hall, the holy land in the hearts of all the warriors of the Law Realm!
Never had anyone been clear about the criteria for choosing the new members of the Dragon Ascension Martial Hall, and the result of this time made it even more confusing, since the one who came in first for the initial a.s.sessment was actually Xia Fei, an insignificant level 4 Law Sovereign!
When the final leaderboard was posted on that day, it caused quite a stir in the entire circle. This was the first time in who knew how many years that a mere Law Sovereign came in first. It had to be mentioned that this a.s.sessment was of a much higher quality than previous conclaves, and there were even at least fifty Law Emperors among the candidates!
It was really hard to imagine how Xia Fei, with just his Law Sovereign cultivation, had managed to come out on top despite the fact that there were plenty of experts among their numbers.
Naturally, the Dragon Ascension Martial Hall did not disclose the details of the a.s.sessment, nor did anyone dare to come out and question the hall’s confidentiality policy. Anyone knew that Dragon Ascension had the backing of the G.o.d Race, and challenging Dragon Ascension would be as good as challenging the authority of the two peak races in the Law Realm.
However, there were of course plenty of discussions being held in private about the result. Conspiracy theorists made it sound as if Xia Fei was a G.o.d-like existence, while rumors spread that he had some unimaginable connection with the G.o.d Race; there were even some who believed that Xia Fei’s level of cultivation was completely fabricated and he was a probe sent by the G.o.d Race.
An a.s.sessment, which drew the attention of the entire realm, was enough to push the name of a warrior to the tip of everyone’s lips. How was Xia Fei to know that, not just humans, even the other sapient lifeforms in the Law Realm knew of his name? It could not be helped, since this was the Dragon Ascension Conclave. Anyone who wanted to become famous could do so very easily; he had shown quite the performance, killing a quasi-Divine Beast, to obtain the win. Any warrior able to achieve these feats could forget about keeping a low-profile afterward.
By the Evernight Star Region, a large and strange emerald wars.h.i.+p floated in s.p.a.ce. Though they had never officially met, Autumn Cicada and Xiaoyu were so excited that they could hardly sleep. The two had already heard about someone by the name of Xia Fei partic.i.p.ating in the initial a.s.sessment of the Dragon Ascension Conclave, and today, after the a.s.sessment ended, his name once more spread across the Law Realm, so even his background had been uncovered. Both Autumn Cicada and Xiaoyu were finally convinced that this Xia Fei was none other than the person whom the two had been preoccupied with.
Xiaoyu’s attachment to Xia Fei was understandable, given the heartbreaking history that they shared, but few could have imagined that someone like Autumn Cicada, who was not privy to mortal concerns or woes, would also be moved.
“Don’t be so anxious. We of the Snowdrift Clan will be partic.i.p.ating in the second-stage examinations. When that time comes, you can see Xia Fei again,” Autumn Cicada softly rea.s.sured.
Xiaoyu was lying beside Autumn Cicada, using the latter’s white cotton skirt to dab at her tears. Her small face had already turned red from crying, looking extremely pitiful.
Women were always very strange, and though Xiaoyu was feeling excited inside, she was actually crying outside. Unhappiness caused her to cry, yet happiness would also cause her to cry as well.
Xiaoyu nodded. “Yes, I’ll be able to see Big Brother Xia Fei in a month’s time. Xiaoyu must get a hold of herself so that he will know that I have been strong these past few years.”
Autumn Cicada’s lips slightly twitched, somewhat hesitantly saying, “Would your big brother Xia Fei blame us for taking you away from the Alliance back then?”
Xiaoyu paled, before lowering her head. “Going by his personality, he would definitely.”
“Oh,” Autumn Cicada softly said, “I still wish to ask him questions about love. It won’t be good if conflict arises between us.”
Xiaoyu’s face paled further, and her head was practically buried in her own bosom. “Big Brother Xia Fei, actually… he is sometimes quite unreasonable …”
“Unreasonable?” Two creases appeared on Autumn Cicada’s forehead. To a woman of such fairy-like beauty, even when she was in deep contemplation, she would also exude an irresistible charm.
“I’ll explain to Big Brother Xia Fei that the lady is a good person! If not for you, Xiaoyu would really have no idea how I could survive in the Snowdrift Clan,” Xiaoyu said with two clenched fists.
…
When the two innocent ladies were together, they always had plenty to talk about, and it would of course often be about Xia Fei. With only a month until they met again, the two chatted about all the old stories they knew of the man, culminating into an enthusiastic discussion.
The two discussed the same somewhat legendary exploits of Xia Fei’s countless times, yet they never got tired of it. The blame for this fell upon the fact that they were staying with the austere Snowdrift Clan, one entirely comprising women.
Their days spent were extremely plain and boring, which caused Xia Fei to become a source of essential flavoring. Without either of these two ignorant girls realizing it, Xia Fei had left an indelible mark in their hearts.
*Achoo achoo achoo—*
Xia Fei back in White Horse Constellation sneezed thrice in rapid succession.
Zanian Feng patted him on the arm and chuckled. “Who’s thinking about you? Your girlfriend?”
Xia Fei shrugged to express his cluelessness, thinking that perhaps it was Avril back in the Alliance who was missing him greatly.
Even in his wildest dreams, he would never have guessed that Xiaoyu was actually not too far away from him. She was even someone from Snowdrift, one of the Nine Great Clans, and that they would be seeing each other very soon.
Outside the Dragon Ascension Martial Hall, the crowd thronged. Xia Fei and Zanian strode through the crowd and quickly made a path for the pair even as chatter erupted in their wake.
“Xia Fei and the young master of the Feng family together? What’s their relations.h.i.+p?”
“I already said that Xia Fei’s background isn’t anything simple. Look, the two of them seem to have quite a good relations.h.i.+p.”
“Xia Fei’s from Yu family. Does that mean that the Yus share a decent relations.h.i.+p with Dragon Ascension’s Fengs?”
“That’s not right. They are both from the Yu family, so why would Xia Fei come in first, while Yu Xiaobei suffered defeat? After all, Yu Xiaobei is the one who’s really related to the Yu family, while Xia Fei is no more than an outsider.”
“Perhaps the Feng family is merely good with Xia Fei, and it has nothing to do with Yu family?”
There were all sorts of wild guesses being thrown about, but without a doubt, after everything that had happened, it was Xia Fei’s name that was getting famous, while also increasing the mystery around him.
Sweeping his gaze across the crowd, Xia Fei did not see Ludi anywhere. The man might be unhappily wining and dining away his sorrows after being eliminated; the life of that playboy was definitely nowhere as boring as Xia Fei.
Xia Fei inadvertently caught the angry face of the prideful Yu Xiaobei. That rather decent set of combat suit he wore had already been reduced into tatters, and his face looked haggard, most likely injured after having fled from Shepherdians who sought to hunt the humans down.
Xia Fei nodded slightly at Yu Xiaobei. What should have been a normal greeting appeared to be derision in Yu Xiaobei’s eyes; he ignored Xia Fei and turned to leave with a hardened expression on his face.
“What a haughty fellow,” Xia Fei muttered under his breath.
“Who are you talking about?” Zanian turned around to ask.
Xia Fei responded, “Oh, nothing. Just saw someone familiar. Speaking of which, I must really thank you this time.”
“What for?”
“Aren’t you escorting me out of the martial hall on purpose?” Xia Fei asked.
Zanian chuckled. “Well, you don’t have to thank me. This is all Uncle Busey’s arrangement. Though he looks like a stony-faced, ten-thousand-year-old scrooge, he’s actually very attentive to the youths of the human species. He’s the only human among the Dragon Ascension’s Four Heavenly Kings, so he of course favors his own kind. Though my father is the hallmaster, it isn’t convenient for him to do such things. You’ll understand this if you make it into the martial hall; it’s fine if you look for Uncle Busey for any issue cropping up. He’s actually a very warm-hearted person.”
Xia Fei nodded. Humans were not the only ones in the Law Realm, and Busey held the highest position aside from the hallmaster, so it made sense why he would be more attentive toward humans.
“This circle is fraught with dangers. You barely have any backing when you first entered the Law Realm, but now that you’ve gotten first in the initial a.s.sessment and Uncle Busey’s Edgeless war armor is in your possession, who knows how many people are scheming against you behind your back? With me escorting you out of the martial hall so openly and brazenly, plenty of people who may have had ill intentions toward you will at least abandon the thought. The Feng family isn’t like the Nine Great Clans, but we aren’t whom people will dare to provoke, either. Sensible people won’t dare plot anything toward you, though of course, you still can’t be too careless.
“It’s as the old saying goes: ‘Humans fear fame while pigs fear getting fat’; this is the extent of help the martial hall can give you. Everything else, you’re on your own,” Zanian said.
Xia Fei nodded. Busey, who was a formidable human, showed great consideration in his gesture. He had even thought ahead of matters after the a.s.sessment ended; Xia Fei could not help but admire him quite a bit for this.
“Where are we off to now?” Xia Fei asked.
“We’re off to the Law Enforcement Board to register your spatial compa.s.s. This way, you’ll be able to utilize that compa.s.s to travel as you wish, no longer limited by the use of spatial gates.”
“I still have to get it registered?”
Zanian rolled his eyes at Xia Fei. “Of course, you have to, or else how can the Law Enforcement Board keep track of your movement? Every spatial compa.s.s and spatial gate needs to be registered. Of course, if there are markets, that also means that there are black markets, which have spatial compa.s.ses and spatial gates that can’t be tracked. Alas, such things don’t come cheap. Given your current standing, I doubt that you’ll be able to get yourself an illegal compa.s.s. Besides, you may not even have the contacts necessary to purchase such illegal goods.
“If I were to ascend to be a Law Emperor in the future and master the technique to conjure spatial channels, would I still need a spatial compa.s.s?” Xia Fei asked.
Zanian shook his head. “That’s very difficult. The distance of the channel itself is a very huge issue. Though there are some experts who can disappear without a trace, they may actually not be adepts at high-level Law of Travel. Perhaps they simply use the compa.s.ses more smoothly, without leaving any traces behind.”
“I see that you’re very interested in the spatial compa.s.s. Are you feeling a little homesick?” Zanian asked with a smile.
Xia Fei did not deny it as he nodded. “Indeed, I’ve been hoping to head back and see a friend.”
“Friend, more like a girlfriend, right?” Zanian flashed him a cheeky smile, which Xia Fei neither confirmed nor denied. He had never considered it shameful to be together with Avril, and he was in fact somewhat proud of it as the two of them truly loved each other.
Letting out a dry cough, Zanian continued. “There are some things that I shouldn’t tell you, but it’s not allowed for people to get in contact with the Alliance from the Law Realm normally. Law Warriors aren’t allowed to affect mortal lives, and that’s the original reason why our ancestors established this separate realm altogether. Of course, if you’re able to establish a good relations.h.i.+p with members of the Law Enforcement Board, as long as you don’t make too much noise while there, those old coots will just ignore you.”
Xia Fei was skeptical. “Doesn’t that mean that the Law Enforcement Board is very important?”
Zanian answered, “It has to be important. Don’t think that the Law Realm has no laws; while there’s no penalty for killing people, there are still some things strictly forbidden, such as private contact with the Demon Race. There’s a heavy punishment for that, where the offender will be hunted down. The same goes for sellers of hormones. You’ll slowly understand that the Law Realm is a very simple place. As long as you don’t infringe on the taboo, the Law Enforcement Board won’t impinge upon your freedom too much.”
Xia Fei was breaking out in cold sweats. His spatial ring actually contained someone of the Demon Race, and it was even a Great Demonlord, yet here he was swaggering on the streets of White Horse Constellation, all bold and such.
“That’s right. What grade is this spatial compa.s.s that Busey awarded me with? How far can I travel with it?” Xia Fei asked.