Chapter 932 - One Hundred Thousand Heads

Night Banquet Inn, Room 7031.

Xia Guanghai, Xia Dian, and Xia Geng arrived without any issues.

"Here's what you wanted," Xia Guanghai said with a smile as he tossed a spatial ring to Xia Fei. He then glanced at Oro.

Xia Guanghai was very curious; it seemed like Xia Fei and Oro shared an amicable relationship, keeping each other company everywhere. He was also assigned the immense task of joining the Guardians. Given how cautious Xia Fei was as a person, it was not easy for him to trust anyone easily.

The old demon lord stood up and made his way to the other room inside, so as to avoid eavesdropping on the conversation of Xia Fei and his clansmen.

Xia Fei reached out to stop him as he said with a straight face, "We're all comrades here, so there's no need for any discretion."

Oro was a little surprised before he went and took a seat by the window. He was quite touched by this. The Lionhearts were loyal and perceptive. Though Oro had never gotten any benefit from being by Xia Fei's side as the esteemed Lionheart emperor and had even been turned into a human by the latter, he nevertheless found that the recent things Xia Fei had done were done very beautifully.

Just how valuable was the morphing war armor Monohorn Ogre? Extremely valuable! After all, this was a suit of armor that had been further modified by a Celestial Zerohammer! The value of this piece of equipment was astronomical, yet Xia Fei had gifted it to him without even blinking an eye! This was a clear sign of just how greatly he valued him!

Now, Xia Fei was even letting him listen to the discussion of strategy of his clan, treating him like a comrade and not at all trying to keep things from him; naturally, the old demon lord felt a warm fuzziness inside.

It must be said that Xia Fei truly had had Oro figured out; this was one of the three emperors of the Lionheart Clan, and winning him over was as good as recruiting the Lionheart species to Xia Fei's side! If there was ever a need in the future, the Lionhearts would definitely give their fullest support simply on the auspices of the relation Xia Fei shared with Oro!

A Monohorn Ogre in exchange for the entire Lionheart species' camaraderie? It was an absolutely worthwhile exchange!

After all, these lions were an extremely powerful force, were tyrannical existences in the Demon Race's midst, and were among the pillars holding up the heavens!

Aside from power, what Xia Fei fancied was the Lionhearts' personality; from the old demon lord to Heathfield, every Lionheart warrior demonstrated great loyalty and was very stalwart. Otherwise, Oro would not have been sealed in the Eternal Ice Plains for countless years; this, in itself, was a display of this golden furred lion's resoluteness.

The five individuals for this operation had gathered, taking their seats accordingly. Xia Fei peered into the spatial ring in his hand and saw that it was filled with shiny gems, each one being a grade 7 Origin Crystal! There were a million of such crystals inside!

Keeping this ring safely, Xia Fei addressed the others in a severe tone, "I'm sure that everyone knows that our target this time is the Dark Night Diary; we're not planning to win it during the auction but steal it from right under the Night Banquet Inn's eyes! Let's not dawdle; I'll now start delegating the assignments."

Though this was the first time he would be leading a clan operation, Xia Fei did not show any hesitation. Xia Guanghai and the others were already aware of Xia Fei's capability in the scheme department, so not one of them had any qualms about him taking charge. They all quietly waited to hear the arrangements.

"Xia Geng, you'll be with me. Use your Law of Search and judgment to help me locate the Dark Night Diary," Xia Fei said.

Xia Geng nodded. "Don't worry. I just had a closed door meeting with the other searchers in our clan before coming over, and we determined the authenticity of the Dark Night Diary. As long as this diary is truly here, I'll be able to find it and distinguish it!"

Xia Fei turned to Xia Dian. "You're a sharpshooter, so I'll be giving you coordinates later. That location will serve as our retreat route, so I want you to lay an ambush out there. If we are tracked, you'll be expected to finish off the enemy's searcher and rendezvous with us after.

"It's risky to do this solo; you must be sure to finish off the searcher in the team. There's no room for error on this one, so the pressure is immense."

Xia Dian was a man of few words, preferring to keep things to himself. Everyone saw his eyes twinkle, a cold glint passing in them as he confidently assured, "No problem. It's my speciality. No matter how many end up giving chase, all I gotta do is ward them off!"

Xia Fei next looked to Xia Guanghai with a smile. "I wanna know just how many ambushes are being set up here on this planet, who are involved, and what their cultivation is. More importantly, which among the teams lying in wait has existing animosity with the others."

Xia Guanghai was startled but soon laughed, pointing at Xia Fei. "You're a nasty one, indeed! There'll surely be more than one team in attendance at the Night Banquet, with the various major clans being hostile to one another. You clearly intend to get them to kill one another before the auction even starts, sowing further discord among the enemies!"

Xia Fei did not deny this. "Chaos in our enemies' midst will create the perfect opportunity for us. The more of a mess we can create outside the Night Banquet, the better! The moment there's chaos even before the Night Banquet, Hua Siniang will be worried of people plotting to steal the Dark Night Diary. The moment she decides to move it from its hiding spot will be the moment we strike!"

Everyone was shocked. None of them had expected Xia Fei to strike before the auction and not after!

It was simply too insane!

It must be said that there were now an inumerable pairs of eyes trained on the Night Banquet Inn. Even if Xia Fei managed to get his hands on the diary, he would definitely be targeted and hunted, especially the moment he attempted to leave with it!

The ever-silent Xia Dian bit his lower lip, the expression on his face grimmer. If too many people chased them, Xia Dian could very well end up being taken to task as the sharpshooter who would secure their retreat!

Without a word, Xia Dian silently removed all his possessions that could identify him as a Skywing, tossing them all into a spatial ring and handing everything over to Xia Geng.

Xia Dian was not afraid of death. As a Skywing, Xia Dian had long cultivated an awareness toward his own mortality! He was only afraid that people might identify him as part of the Skywing Clan after dying, and that would just direct their aggression toward the fiendish blade.

Out of everyone involved in this operation, Xia Geng was likely the only one who could safely escape, which was why Xia Dian had handed over all his belongings to him, leaving himself with just the weapons and a handful of Origin Crystals.

A Skywing warrior was not just an expert when it came to group battles, their combat literacy was also honed to the extreme. There was no dissent from anyone as Xia Fei gave them their assignments. Xia Guanghai and the others all made their necessary preparations wordlessly.

Xia Dian nodded to everyone after he was done, which was a goodbye in itself, and then exited the room with a severe expression on his face, going straight for the ambush location Xia Fei had arranged.

Xia Guanghai chuckled. "Well, I should leave now, too. Keep an eye on your compass; I'll be giving you a ring the moment I hear anything."

Xia Fei nodded. A sudden thought came to him, and he asked cluelessly, "Oh, right. Just what exactly does the White Flamingo he gave me do? Xia Ke said that I can use it as my final trump card, but he didn't tell me what exactly it does."

Xia Guanghai pursed his lips. "I'm not qualified to have one; why would you ask me that question?"

With that, Xia Guanghai departed carefreely, leaving just Xia Geng, Xia Fei, and Oro in the room.

Xia Fei could tell that Xia Geng was feeling a little nervous. As a searcher, it was important for him to have a keen neural response. It was his heightened sensitivity that made him a better Law of Search practitioner compared to the others. He lacked the seasoned nerves that Xia Fei or Xia Guanghai possessed, who could sleep without any care even in the middle of a battle.

With a flick of his wrist, Xia Fei handed over three hundred grade 7 Origin Crystals over to Xia Geng. This sum was enough for him to purchase three entry tickets for the Hundred Flower Chamber. Thought Xia Fei planned to strike before the auction and snatch away the Dark Night Diary from Hua Siniang, he figured that it was best to prepare a backup plan. In the event that she did not fall for the scheme, he would have to wait and make his attempt during or after the auction, instead.

Just as Xia Geng left, Oro anxiously asked, "Everyone has been given an assignment; what about me?"

Xia Fei lit a cigarette and laughed. "You're the ranger, filling in wherever the need of additional reinforcement arises. After all, you're far more experienced than all of them put together, making you the best choice as our shortstop."

While Oro verbally complained that he was ill-suited for the job as 'shortstop', claiming it was Xia Fei's speciality rather than his own, he was actually feeling delighted inside. Given how a ranger would have to be the most capable, Oro's assignment here as the ranger just went to show how greatly Xia Fei valued Oro.

Along with the last bit of vagueness in his heart being lifted, the old demon now saw Xia Fei in a favorable light.

It was a great change of hearts! Xia Fei had quietly chipped away at Oro's wariness toward him, having successfully thawed the Lionheart emperor until he was finally standing on his side.

After the meeting ended, Xia Fei made his way to the exchange with Oro. The latter asked in puzzlement, "The clan already gave you a hefty number of crystals, so what else do you need to exchange for?"

Xia Fei smirked. "Well, Grade 7 Origin Crystals are highly sought after right now, the rate having already gone up to 1:1000. I think that this is the perfect time for me to buy things using the crystals I have on me."

Oro was surprised but soon snickered gleefully. "Everyone's in a rush to acquire more Origin Crystals, willing to sell off precious treasures for cheap! You're essentially taking advantage of this fire sale to sell crystals for a tidy profit after the auction ends!"

Shaking his head, Oro looked at Xia Fei excitedly. "You truly have the makings of an unscrupulous businessman!"

Xia Fei was unamused. "What do you mean 'makings of'? I've always been an unscrupulous businessman."

...

Night Banquet Inn, Penthouse.

This was where the owner of the inn, Hua Siniang, lived. The decorations were luxurious and comfortable, in a seemingly religious design. The beads adorning the walls were like eyes gazing at those in the room, while a huge an abstract mural of chaos could be seen on the ceiling, which seemed to depict the chaotic state of the universe when it first came to be.

A woman had on a pair of embroidered slippers as she lay in a massage table; two tanned and muscular men were currently giving her a massage. A straw was even wedged between her lips, letting her drink fine wine sans needing to get up.

This scene was somewhat unbelievable, given how this mature lady was none other than the famous level 3 Law God, Hua Sininag!

One of the only three female Law Gods in the Law Realm! No matter how one looked at it, she just seemed like a pampered woman who hardly knew a day of work in her life.

Hua Siniang sipped on her drink as she softly asked, "There are still twelve hours left before the auction begins; how many people are downstairs at this point?"

There was a sheer curtain behind the bed, and the vague outline of a person could be made out standing beyond it. The room was dimly lit, so if one did not look closely, they might not notice that someone was actually there.

"Over fifty thousand have gathered, and more than sixty percent of them are warriors," this veiled figure replied in a deep voice.

Hua Siniang frowned slightly. "So few people?"

The figure replied, "The news has spread far too quickly; I believe the important clans, which are keeping their identities hidden, will likely hurry over only at the final juncture."

"Hmph!" Hua Siniang raised an eyebrow as she ambiguously huffed. "Identity? I'm afraid those people only have their identity left.. In any case, you must keep an eye out for things. We've got quite the task ahead of us; those above want ten thousand heads!"