Chapter 523: The Blackwater Mu Family
This group of unfamiliar Law Adepts actually had Clean Knife counted among them. Xia Fei could not help but be perplexed.
Logically speaking, this killer, who always had this smile on his face, was Xia Fei’s enemy, and his attitude toward enemies was simple: kill!
However, Clean Knife was an exception. He had been his enemy twice and had managed to flee with his life at both times. Xia Fei even suspected that the man was protected by Lady Luck, for not many of his enemies had managed to slip past his grasp, let alone do so twice.
Clean Knife flashed a slight smile at Xia Fei—a smile that held no killing intent. Instead, it was like they were old friends who had crossed paths once again.
Xia Fei slightly nodded and did not say a word.
At the moment, there were plenty of experts around him. Even if Xia Fei wanted to kill him, there was no rush for him to do so. Xia Fei was not foolish enough to become an enemy to this bunch of unfamiliar Law Adepts. He was very weak after that battle with the Demon Chrysalis mere moments ago, so it was best if he kept himself alive first.
“Were you the one who killed this Demon Chrysalis?” asked an old man with a bushy black beard.
Xia Fei nodded.
“May I ask which family you belong to, warrior?”
Xia Fei answered, “I’m with the Yu family.”
“The Yu family that specializes in the Law of Space?” asked an old man with white wispy goatee.
“That’s right.”
The two old men nodded in unison as both conversed. “Ah, so you’re a warrior from Old Yu’s family. Looks like they’re not in decline like what the rumors claimed but, instead, found themselves a decent young champion.”
The black-bearded old man furrowed his brows. “Young man, may I ask what’s your cultivation level?”
He was very skeptical. Xia Fei did not look like some expert, and this drained corpse of the Demon Chrysalis before him was very much a huge eyesore. There was no way anyone would be able to slay it without a sufficient cultivation, and this was something even a child here in the Law Realm understood clearly.
“Level 4,” Xia Fei answered lightly.
“Oh, so you’ve already been promoted to a Law Sovereign at such a young age. We’re sorry for the disrespect we extended,” said the two old men with mild surprise.
Xia Fei shrugged and somewhat awkwardly corrected them. “You two elders are mistaken. I’m only a level 4 Law Warrior.”
Shock!
Extreme shock!
Everyone nearly forgot to breathe when they heard this. A mere level 4 Law Warrior had actually killed a Demon Chrysalis all by himself!
That was practically a fairytale!
No one would believe this claim. No one would dare believe it!
“Did I hear him correctly? Did he say he’s merely a level 4 Law Warrior?”
“Could he be lying?”
A discussion broke out, and the eyes looking at Xia Fei were that of shock but more were filled with disbelief.
The white goatee and black-bearded old men exchanged looks, their expression spoke volumes of the incredulity they were feeling.
“Are you really just a level 4 Law Warrior?”
“Yes.”
The black-bearded old man laughed bitterly. “Well, even a Law Warrior from the Yu family is capable of soloing a Demon Chrysalis. This world sure is filled with strange oddities.”
Clean Knife furtively flashed a thumbs-up at Xia Fei along with that smile of his.
Xia Fei pursed his lips. He always had this indescribable feeling toward Clean Knife; for some reason, Clean Knife had fought with Xia Fei twice, and so the latter did not have too deep a distaste toward the former. Perhaps it was because of his brooding aura or that strange half-smirk he always did. Xia Fei just felt Clean Knife was an exception.
The shock and curiosity toward Xia Fei had not lessened. This group of Law Adepts had their backs turned toward Xia Fei as they quietly discussed this with one another, but no one could come to a conclusion. All of them felt that Xia Fei was definitely a very odd entity.
“May I ask where I am right now and how I can return to the Yu family?” Xia Fei asked. He could not be bothered to go into depth about how he had managed to kill the Demon Chrysalis, much less divulge about the Blood Crystal, Peacock Blue, or the Law of Primal Chaos. These were all his secrets, and the fewer people who knew, the better.
The man with white goatee spoke. “We are of the Blackwater’s Mu family; I go by the name Mu Tielin, and this is my older brother, Mu Tiehai. We are both elders in our clan.”
“Every clan can travel freely from each other’s spatial doors. This is hardly an issue, so we ask that you wait a while. My fellow brothers and I have some things to discuss.”
With that, both Mu Tielin and Mu Tiehai promptly disappeared into thin air.
“We can’t let that young man live!” said the black-bearded Mu Tiehai somberly.
“Why is that?”
“Think about it; he’s merely a level 4 Law Warrior, yet he can already take down and kill a Demon Chrysalis all by himself. He’ll surely become a core pillar of the Yu family, and if we eliminate him right now, we’ll be able to avoid the resurgence of the Yu family!” Mu Tiehai said viciously.
Mu Tielin burst into laughter. “Big brother, do you really believe his words? I can tell that his cultivation is definitely not as simple as Law Warrior. He’s able to speak so freely and easily in front of the two of us; just this attitude alone means he’s not one to be underestimated.”
“I carefully observed him, though; it really appears that the young man’s cultivation is as terrible as he claimed,” Mu Tiehai said suspiciously.
Mu Tielin replied, “Experts love hiding their cultivation the most. Besides, we can’t touch him even if he is really just a level 4 Law Warrior; you can probably count in one hand the number of young men with that much potential in our entire circle. The Yu family surely cares about his well-being immensely. If we provoke this man unnecessarily, the Yu family may not be nice enough to leave the matter lying down. You killing such a wonderful sproutling of theirs, isn’t that as good as killing the Yu family’s future lifeline?”
“Though rumors about the Yu family’s decline have been spreading these last few years, their Patriarch Yu Jiang is still alive, and surely you’ve heard of the saying: ‘A skinny camel is still bigger than a horse.’ Besides, they have another weirdo, Yu Hua, in their family, and he’s a Great Law Emperor. Though he has faded from familial affairs, do you dare to guarantee that he won’t make a comeback?”
Mu Tiehai nodded his head repeatedly. “There’s great merit in your analysis. A family with two Great Law Emperors is indeed frightening. In retrospect, Yu Hua was once among the best young elites in our circle years back, someone with a 100% open brain region. Best to be on our guard.”
They were all Law Emperors, but the word ‘great’ would be added to them after getting to level 5. The two were talking a good distance away, and Xia Fei had not caught a word spoken. He would never in his wildest dreams have thought that the shrewd merchant, Yu Hua, the man who brought him into the Law Realm, was actually a Great Law Emperor!
For someone of such caliber to become a merchant, it was truly a peculiar matter.
“So what do we do?” Mu Tiehai asked.
“Inform the Yu family to send someone over and pick him up, thereby doing them a favor in the process. The Yu family has two Great Law Emperors, and another elite with great potential has appeared among their juniors; looks like the rumors about the Yu family fading into obscurity aren’t true, so it’s best if we don’t fall foul with them for now.”
Mu Tiehai sighed. “I guess that’s for the best. Though the Yu family has few experts, they have quite a few elites. Otherwise… Hmph!”
Xia Fei had no idea just how ruthless the Law Realm was when he first got here. He was no stranger to backstabbing and such, but he had underestimated the people of the Law Realm; here, everyone was constantly plotting and calculating how they could smash their opponents.
Friends?
There was no such thing as friendship in the Law Realm!
While Mu Tielin and Mu Tiehai were discussing if they should take out Xia Fei, Clean Knife took this time to make his way over quietly, that light smile of his ever present.
“You’re a level 4 Law Warrior?” Clean Knife asked with a smile. “I really did not think I would get to meet you here.”
“If you could make it here, why couldn’t I?” Xia Fei retorted.
“That’s not what I mean. Others make it here in the Law Realm after being secretly chosen by the families and, afterward, go through any Heritage Planets’ tests, but you haven’t been chosen, nor have you made it through the Heritage route. You actually skipped through the stages and got here.”
Xia Fei was mildly stunned. “Does that mean you managed to make it past the fourth stage of your Heritage Planet?”
Xia Fei of course knew just how dangerous Heritage Planets were. If Clean Knife had truly made it past the fourth stage, then he would most likely be many times stronger than Xia Fei in terms of strength!
Clean Knife let out a bitter chuckle. “Nope. It’s been hundreds of years since anyone made it past the fourth stage, which is why the Law Realm changed the rules, such that even people who did not pass it but have the potential can end up here as well. These families ultimately have to inject new blood into their ranks, right? If they had stubbornly stuck to the rules of old, they would’ve probably met extinction already. I heard there are even those who personally make a trip to the Alliance just to pick saplings for nurturing.”
Xia Fei nodded. He had only cleared the test of Heritage Planet once. Unfortunately, the one he visited was a Heritage Planet which had long been abandoned, and there was no way for him to get to the second stage, so any hopes of clearing the fourth stage was basically impossible.
Heritage Planets were how the Law families chose their successors through the inheritance methods. Any family with the strength would establish a similar system in the Alliance, and the one that Xia Fei visited had long been left in disuse. It was likely because the family in question had long gone extinct from the Law Realm, which was why no one was left to take care of that inheritance system.
That was when the two elders of the Mu family returned to Xia Fei.
Mu Tielin intentionally coughed twice. “Xia Fei, we’ve sent someone over to the Yu family. Once we confirm your identity, we’ll have them send someone to pick you up. The major families in the Law Realm are of the same roots, so it’s only natural for us to look out for one another.”
Several minutes ago, the black-bearded and white goateed men were actually discussing if they should silence Xia Fei; now, they had had a complete 180 and were acting virtuous and upright. This change in attitude was so quick that anyone would have been left tongue-tied had they witnessed it!
“I wonder how you plan to deal with the carcass of the Demon Chrysalis…” Mu Tiehai suddenly asked.
Xia Fei was slightly surprised. Since this issue was raised, it must mean that this carcass had some value.
“Sell it off, of course,” replied Xia Fei casually.
Mu Tiehai was the impatient sort, which was why he immediately stated. “I’ll give you a hundred grade 3 Origin Crystals, and you can leave this carcass with us.”
A hundred grade 3 Origin Crystals would be a huge windfall to Xia Fei! Right now, Origin Crystals were precisely what he needed the most and lacked. Not only were they useful for his cultivation, they were Furball’s food as well. Here in the Law Realm, owning Origin Crystals meant owning everything!
However, Xia Fei was clueless about the true value of the carcass, so he had no idea just how much it was worth.
Frowning ever so slightly, Xia Fei probed. “Isn’t that price a little low?”
Mu Tiehai harrumphed, seeming somewhat dissatisfied. Beside him, Mu Tielin chuckled. “My brother was merely having a laugh. A Demon Chrysalis’s carcass will at least be worth a thousand grade 3 Origin Crystals, but your fight with the creature has ruined quite a bit of buildings here in the Mu family, so you should compensate us accordingly for them…
“Besides, the carcass of this Demon Chrysalis is very strange and desiccated as if its essence has been drained. That’s why four hundred grade 3 Origin Crystals should be a reasonable price.”
Xia Fei laughed. “Don’t forget; though this carcass was desiccated, it’s also one about to evolve.”
“About to evolve?!”
Mu Tiehai suddenly appeared beside the carcass, and after a careful examination, he nodded deeply toward Mu Tielin. “He’s right! This Demon Chrysalis was on the verge of evolving when it got killed!”