Master of the Stars

Feng Jiajun’s eyelids drooped down slightly, but the smile on his face grew much more distinct. "Instructor Xue...."

Xue Lei replied humbly, "I’m not an instructor. At most, I’m a teaching assistant for my daoguan. I haven’t finished my apprenticeship yet."

"Is that so? Which daoguan do you hail from?"

Xue Lei wasn’t one to let any chance to spread the name of his daoguan escape his grasp. He immediately cleared his throat and said, "Divine Yu Gym of the River Wu District."

"Gym Master Xiu’s daoguan?" Feng Jiajun’s lips split into a grin, revealing a mouth full of white teeth. "Then I’ve truly been looking forward to meeting you for a long time."

Xue Lei was both shocked and delighted. "Instructor Feng knows our gym master?"

"I naturally do. Divine Yew, man. It’s very famous."

He spoke the word ’Yew’ in a very drawn out manner.

No matter how straightforward Xue Lei was, even he felt that something was wrong in that moment. He looked at Feng Jiajun, who had just extended a hand with a smile. "We should get to know each other."

Shaking hands was not a good practice within the martial arts circle.

He wanted Xue Lei’s hand?

Xue Lei hesitated for a moment, but he saw Feng Jiajun frown a bit amidst his firm attitude. Xue Lei extended his hand and the two shook hands.

He listened to Feng Jiajun continue speaking. "I’ve heard of Gym Master Xiu and knew of his name for a long time. After all, he opened that Yew Shop in Boshan Building, but I’ve rarely seen that man in the ten years he’s been there. I’ve heard that all of you are moving soon...."

Feng Jiajun wanted to show a relaxed and easy-going attitude. He spoke fluently, like pearls, but he suddenly stopped.

Xue Lei’s eyebrows rose, and a creaking sound of friction, which made one’s teeth ache from hearing it, could be heard from where their two hands met. Then a light bang sounded out, as if a miniature balloon had popped.

At that instant, Feng Jiajun’s palm moved as slippery as a snake. His hand slipped away from Xue Lei’s fingers, but his body unconsciously recoiled. He was frozen there for a moment before standing back up straight. He lowered his head to look at his own palm, and his expression darkened. The corner of his lips lifted into a smirk, then he regained his smile.

"You’ve trained your strength quite decently."

"Oh? Have two enemies met each other on a narrow road? An inevitable clash between foes?"

He Donglou straightened his sitting posture a bit. He took his arms that had hung from the sofa and smacked his chest. He even rubbed it a few times. His attitude showed that he enjoyed watching chaos and didn’t mind a huge commotion happening.

You may be right, but was it good to just say it outright?

He Donglou’s skill at being a silk-pants forced even Xie Junping to concede defeat. Xie Junping pondered, If I don’t drink alcohol or take drugs, I probably won’t be a match for him.

Yao Feng just felt that a disaster had descended upon him, but the curses that filled his belly were unable to come out of his mouth. He could only rack his head for a way of conciliation. "It’s normal for martial artists to learn from one another. But if it’s done too early, the consequent shows become meaningless.... Young Master He?"

"He has a point," He Donglou accepted the criticism by going with the flow. He looked quite easy to talk to, but he possessed a bit of a silver-tongue when he opened his mouth. Feng Jiajun frowned a bit, but in the end, he took a step back.

Xue Lei didn’t let Feng Jiajun go that easily. He furrowed his brows and glared at Feng Jiajun with blazing eyes, not letting him escape his sight.

Feng Jiajun’s eyes went cold and dark upon seeing this.

On the other hand, He Donglou laughed upon seeing his expression. "There’s no rush. Didn’t you hear? There’s still a show later on. I’ll let you all have some time when that happens. Hey, I’ve waited so long. Old Yao, where’s your family’s most precious treasure?"

Yao Feng lowered his head to look at his wristband. He smiled reluctantly. "Almost here."

He gave Xie Junping a meaningful look upon saying this, and the latter understood Yao Feng without words. Then, he chuckled with an utterly unhappy heart. "Young Master He, go have fun first. We’re going to go for a walk."

He Donglou was an expert in picking on him. "Don’t forget about the matter with the show."

I’ll show your sister!

Xie Junping cursed in his mind from his belly to the heavens. He was going to talk a bit more with Yao Feng, but in the current circumstances, it seemed that Yao Feng might cry. Yao Feng absolutely wouldn’t be in the mood to help them hook up with Tang Yi. Their most important objective for participating in this party had mostly fallen through.

Xie Junping and Hu Huaying dragged Luo Nan and Xue Lei away together.

Xue Lei remained silent since the handshake. His expression was deep and solemn, his fury not fading away. He turned his head back to look after being dragged a few steps by Hu Huaying.

Feng Jiajun didn’t react. It looked like he was calling someone.

Luo Nan saw the whole conversation happen from beginning to end. He was a complete observer. The way the second generation of the rich dealt with each other was not his expertise, regardless of intelligence or clumsiness. He lacked all interest.

Only, the matter with Feng Jiajun had occurred in such a bizarre manner. It involved Xiu Shenyu and his gym, so it was unavoidable for Luo Nan to be worried.

Through a slight effort of will, all of the words that were exchanged between Feng Jiajun and the person on the other side of the line were captured by Luo Nan’s mental senses. The information was transmitted back to Luo Nan.

Xue Lei still maintained an unsightly expression. His fury was hard to appease. "What the hell is up with the Feng dude?! Did our daoguan provoke him or something? Boshan Building, does it have something to do with Boshan Building?"

Luo Nan spoke without thinking as he monitored Feng Jiajun’s call, "It just might be."

"Huh? You’re saying...." Xue Lei wasn’t stupid; he soon confirmed the key elements, traced down the logical train, and put together the string of clues. "The meaning behind that Feng guy’s words. He envies the fact that our daoguan is in Boshan Building? Thunder Falcon Martial Arts Gym is a huge gym, they wouldn’t.... Oh, could it be that they were the ones who lost the bet back then? Do they want their venue back?"

"That’s probably the case."

Luo Nan still remembered what Xue Lei had mentioned. Back when he had arrived at Xia City, Xiu Shenyu had made a bet with someone and had won the usage rights for the daoguan site for ten years. Feng Jiajun had mentioned ’ten years’, ’moving’, and similar words during the handshake as well. The situation was made much clearer when combining this information with the information revealed by the call.

Xue Lei spat, "This guy only shows up when the daoguan is moving. What the hell happened ten years ago.... No, Nanster. I need to make a call."

"You’re going to contact the gym master?"

"Yes, the gym master never mentioned this matter before. But I see that this man’s going to stop by the daoguan. We have to be direct about this."

Luo Nan stared at him. "Be patient when you ask, and tell me what he says later."

Xue Lei nodded. He found a secluded place and proceeded to contact Xiu Shenyu. Since Xiu Shenyu often didn’t carry any electronics, it was a bit troublesome to call him.

Luo Nan watched Xue Lei’s actions, and he subconsciously shook his head. He might not be able to get the answer out from the gym master.... I need to take different means.

Luo Nan understood Gym Master Xiu to be a genuine taciturn man. Nothing would come out of him if he didn’t want to talk, no matter how much Xue Lei were to coax and pester him.

In order to prevent the gym master from making a stubborn mistake, Luo Nan thought of several more ways to collect information. His best option in Xia City was undoubtedly the Explorers Society. They had recruited Mr. Giant Arm, a powerful martial artist. The Society should have a good understanding of the situation in the martial arts circle.

Luo Nan habitually pressed a finger against his earlobe. He logged in to the Psychic Wave Network, but was unable to find anyone. Then an alarm sounded in his ear.

Half of the deep blue light in the surroundings was suddenly blocked by shadow. The rest of the light violently shook. Some element was causing stress to the structure, and it prompted the people nearby to turn their heads and look, their gazes falling in the direction of the crystal pillar in the center.

A ferocious monster could be seen on the inner side of the crystal wall. It was over fifteen meters in diameter, and it moved like a high-speed plane. In the blink of an eye, it crossed over several dozen meters of water. It charged to the edge of the crystal pillar, fiercely crashing into it. The magnitude of the noise was startling.

The power of the charge of such a colossal creature was shocking and terrifying even though a crystal wall stood in its way. A few people attending the party had been stuck to the crystal pillar, observing the beauty of the ocean floor. They never expected this sudden change, and they instinctively cried out in fear. They frantically retreated, and some unfortunately lost control of their legs. These people staggered back and fell with their butts flat on the ground. It was quite shameful.

The monster, which looked more like a bat than a fish, wanted to make another frontal impact. It suddenly ascended upward, revealing a deathly white stomach. It practically glided on the inner crystal wall as it rapidly ascended. It used the most direct way to show just how astonishing its wingspan was, as well as the hideous mouths that ran down the sides of its stomach.

Oh, who could forget its ten-meter-long slender tail? It was packed densely with bluish black scales. It resembled a chain whip made of metal, and arcs of electric flame even flared and flowed around it.

An enormous body. Powerful movement ability. A demonic body structure.... These elements formed the image of a terrifying fish monster, and this monster wasn’t giving up. After ascending a certain distance in the crystal pillar, it suddenly flipped backward to whirl around the axis of its body.

The ocean water churned everywhere the monster passed, and the resulting waves were as sharp as blades. The ocean prawns, both large and small, were all sliced to powder everywhere it passed, only to be sucked into the mouths that ran down the sides of the monster’s stomach. What had once been crystal clear ocean water became turbid in an instant. It reeked completely of blood.

Within the churning currents, the horrific monster fish broke away from the limits of a normal person’s gaze to disappear without a trace.

Though the people attending the party were the elites of top-ranked schools, most of them couldn’t avoid being stupefied on the spot from witnessing this sudden and bloody scene. They found it hard to speak for a long time.

Yet there was a small portion of people who were able to remain calm and collected, whether it was because they were mentally prepared, or their temperaments exceeded the masses’. A smaller number of people even laughed with excitement. He Donglou laughed the brightest and the loudest.

Those ten meters away could hear his laughter. "This thing is kickass! It’s a Mutant for sure. It has to be a Class 2 at least. It’s rare to find one as wild as this and still be captured and brought back...."

Such a ferocious monster fish far exceeded the limits of normal biology. It was indeed a Mutant. A professional who was familiar with Mutant Genealogy would be able to tell that this monster fish stemmed from Mobula, a genus of ray, and was more commonly known as the devil ray. This monster was the mutated result.

The normal Mobula species were mild creatures. They had existed on Earth for over a million years. They weren’t great at attacking, but due to their sturdy body and its strange shape, the genus had become collectively known as devil rays.

However, the monster fish within the crystal pillar had been mutated into a form that could truly be called that of a ’devil’. Especially just a few moments ago, when it engaged in a mindless slaughter of the other oceanic creatures. It made one shudder with fear.

Xie Junping had suffered from considerable fright, to the point where he had accidentally bitten the inside of his cheek. His mood worsened and he couldn’t refrain from cursing. "That Fourth Yao really doesn’t want to do business putting this thing in there...."

He spoke half of what he had intended when he saw Luo Nan and the others turn their gazes behind him. Xie Junping immediately turned around and was met with the ugly expression of Yao Feng.

Xie Junping didn’t feel the least bit embarrassed. He just laughed. "What’s wrong? Don’t you need to serve the young master of the He Family?"

Yao Feng heard him and instinctively shot him a glare. Then he felt his actions were too shameful. He waved his hand and laughed wryly. "I’m not serving him for now. First, I’ll be avoiding him for a bit. One who is near mountains will eventually eat mountain dirt. One who is near oceans will eventually drink ocean water. There are conditions for everything. Of you all, one is an immoral druggy and one is a farmland owner. You don’t need to understand, but we who eke out a living upon the ocean have to deal with the Coastal Defense Force. We have to deal with the He Family. Not flattering him is no good, man...."

Luo Nan inexplicably felt like he had heard the information Yao Feng said once in the past. Before he could ascertain what it was exactly, the HexaEar vibrated. He wasn’t looking for anyone in particular on the Psychic Wave Network, but someone had found him first.