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Chapter 1248: The Enigmatic Fiend Race

“Broken Wing Sky Devil, Paletooth! Gale Sky Devil, Medicinal Cauldron Prince! Bitter Sea Sky Devil, Forgotten Vale, and the Calamity Sky Devil, Forgotten Trouble! Where we’re standing now is none other than the gravesite of one of the Four Great Sky Devils, Lord Paletooth!”

Though Zumi was speaking very softly, the change to his expression made it abundantly clear that these four were likely godly saints in his heart.

Xia Fei pursed his lips and expressed his surprise, “Four Great Sky Devils? Are these the gods that the Fiends believe in?”

Zumi corrected, “I told you, the Fiends do not believe in gods, but devils! Among the four Sky Devils, Paletooth was the speedy Sky Devil, and Cauldron Prince was a forging and pharmaceutical Sky Devil. Then there’s the Forgotten brothers, Vale and Trouble, who represent war and combat. As for the origin of these Four Great Sky Devils, I’m afraid only the dead elders of the Fiend Race could explain it.

“But the Fiends believe that the Four Great Sky Devils were the most perfect combination for combat, like the war god that humans believe in, or the Lightbringer that we Bluebloods believe in.”

Xia Fei gave this some thought, but soon discovered an issue with what Zumi said, so he sought to clarify, “Strange. Why would the Fiend Race single their speed warrior out? Shouldn’t they consider Paletooth alongside Forgotten Vale and Forgotten Trouble? They are all warriors that excel in combat!”

Zumi shook his head and looked at Xia Fei, “The Fiends aren’t how you imagined them to be. A speed warrior like you, if you were born with the Fiends, would surely be a first rate warrior, because the Fiends believe that the end point of a speed warrior isn’t just based upon his potential, but also his cognitive skills.”

Xia Fei was even more puzzled, “Cognitive skills? What has speed got to do with that?”

Zumi answered his question with a question of his own, “What do you think has the fastest speed in all known existence?”

“It must be light. Though the warp engine can achieve an efficiency that is many times the speed of light, it depends on the interfolding technology, and that isn’t pure speed. So if we’re looking solely on the basis of speed, I’m afraid light is the fastest!” Xia Fei reasoned.

“Wrong. The fastest is the cognitive abilities of sapient lifeforms! A single thought could well reach speeds billions times that of light. There’s nothing that can surpass the speed of thought! That is why the Fiends believed that a warrior with the greatest cognitive capability could ultimately break past the limits of speed.

“The reason why people had difficulty mastering speed is all because they aren’t clear about this relationship between speed and cognition. The sharpness of one’s mind matches the sharpness of speed! If one is dull, then speed will hardly make progress. That is the conclusion that the Fiends came to with regards to speed!” Zumi explained.

Xia Fei was stunned. He agreed with the assessment that the speed of thought reigned supreme. A person was capable of remaining rooted in reality in one second, and had their thoughts racing through the vast galaxy in the next. Nothing could fetter thought, and it was even capable of transcending the limits of time and space. Sapient life was a miracle from the universe, and what made it so miraculous was precisely because of their ability to think.

......

Xia Fei spat out a smoke ring and muttered under his breath, “So the Fiends separated speed from the combat category because of that reason?”

That was when Radix suddenly said to Xia Fei, “What this person said makes sense! Aren’t you the perfect example of this? You possess amazing speed, and the thoughts running in your mind are such a mess that only gods know what you’re thinking. Then there’s Xia Gucheng of the Skywing Clan. From the outside, he looks like some barbaric meathead, when in reality, he is clever and is never one to accept taking a loss. All of the Skywing Clan are freaks! That is why your clan has the deepest understanding toward the Law of Speed in the entire Law Realm, and also why all of you possess the fastest speed!”

Radix felt that what Zumi had said was tailor-made for Xia Fei, and so he immediately believed it.

Xia Fei’s forehead creased. “Is it possible because speedsters are often in high speed motion, or that because there could easily be problems if their cognitive speed can’t keep up, like the tragedy of running right into a telephone pole? So the Fiends believe that it is inevitable for speedsters to have formidable minds.”

Xia Fei did not really believe in the concept of natural endowment, since no amount of talent could make a warrior outstanding without putting in the necessary hard work.

Zumi replied simply, “I’m only telling you how the Fiends thought. I can’t really explain or tell you exactly why. In any case, the Fiends cared about their speedsters very much, and many of their top commanders historically were speedsters.”

Xia Fei nodded and asked, “Then let’s talk about the matter at hand. I don’t care about the Broken Wing Sky Devil, but tell me why you’re so afraid of this gravesite. Also, why did they intentionally leave this place untouched when they were eradicating the Fiends?”

Zumi looked around and gingerly explained, “These are all just ancient rumors. Apparently, when the humans and Bluebloods experts were betrayed at the last second, the resentment in their hearts was such that everyone was determined to wipe out this sapient species that no one could control, which was why they began their cleansing across the universes. No matter their gender or age, no one was let off.

“But speaking of that, while the humans and Bluebloods made up two of the three major sapient races, they did not understand the mysterious Fiends too well. By the time they made their way into their city, only then did the Bluebloods and humans realize that the Fiends were a lot more secretive than they had thought, and that they had plenty of marvels!

“Take the Four Great Sky Devils’s Tombs as examples. They were all cenotaphs! They only buried the items that these Sky Devils had previously used, and there were no corpses anywhere! No one had any idea if the Four Great Sky Devils were dead or alive!

“Not just that, but something major happened on the site of the Four Great Sky Devils. An entire team of experts was once insta-killed because they barged into them! It was bloody and their corpses were left in the most gruesome manner! I’m not talking about your ordinary warriors either, because they were all Annihilator-tier experts! Just what level does a person have to reach in order to achieve such a feat?!”

Zumi’s voice became slightly fiercer as he spoke of the incident. He kept urging Xia Fei to speak quietly, but even he could not stop himself from raising his voice a few octaves higher when narrating this part of the story.

The expression on Xia Fei’s face changed. To be able to insta-kill an entire team of Annihilator-tier experts was definitely a grand gesture!

“Though the Bluebloods and humans were shocked to learn of this tragedy occurring the first time around, none were willing to yield just because of that. It was only when the second and the third team of Annihilator experts were insta-killed that the Bluebloods and humans finally felt fear, and they immediately withdrew from the four cities where the Four Great Sky Demons’ Cenotaphs were situated.”

“The news they learned from all sides was beyond surprising. Not only did the Fiends have Four Great Sky Demons, they were also engaged in research in areas that were completely unknown to the others, with some crazy soul weapons of tremendous power, and legacies that no one had ever heard of.

“With how things turned out, the humans and Bluebloods suddenly realized that though they had been neighbors for many lifetimes, they themselves actually had no real understanding of the Fiends! They had far more hidden secrets than what they had shown in the open.”

Xia Fei could tell how much admiration Zumi had for the Fiends, and he heaved a deep sigh as well. If what Zumi said was true, then the Fiends and the Ancient Dragon might very well be the two ultimate secrets across all universes!

Xia Fei was curious. “You’re a Founder-tier Spiritualist. How did you learn all this?”

Zumi sighed. “There are four Sky Demon Tombs, and the only team of Annihilator-tier experts that were not insta-killed for intruding was here, in the Broken Wing Sky Demon’s Cenotaph. The ancestor of my clan was the commander of the team that was sent here, and though his team did not die, all of them went insane. After he returned to the clan, he had the tablets of the Four Great Sky Demons enshrined and never took a step out of his room afterward. Every day, he would constantly chant these words of worship.”

Xia Fei understood now. It turned out that an ancestor of Zumi’s had personally witnessed the massacre, and was one of the victims. It was no wonder Zumi knew such intimate details about what had happened, and just how frightening this tomb was.

“Since you know that this place isn’t somewhere you should visit, why did you end up doing so?” Xia Fei pressed.

Zumi answered, “I need a lot of money to obtain a Life Advancement Bead, otherwise I’m going to stay at Peak Founder-tier forever, so I have no choice but to take this risk.”

Xia Fei was shocked. A Life Advancement Bead? Xia Fei seemed to have eaten one before. Did Soza not give him that very same thing when he was in the Collapsed Expanse of the Founders?

“Is a Life Advancement Bead that valuable?” Xia Fei asked.

“It costs around thirty thousand standard units of Spirit Energy,” Zumi replied woefully.

Xia Fei blinked a few times. To think a Life Advancement Bead costs thirty thousand Spirit Energy! Thinking back to how he had treated the bead like it was a jelly when he ate it, he felt like he had wasted a good treasure!

Xia Fei stared at Zumi for a moment, and then turned to Radix, “We’re not going to kill this Zumi. Given his understanding of the Fiends, he has value being left alive.”

Radix was anxious, “It’s fine if we’re not killing him. When you become a Devil Shadow Dragoon and obtain plenty of heirlooms from the Fiends, having him around would definitely be of some benefit, but don’t you think it’s time we left? I can feel my hair standing after hearing everything he said.”

Xia Fei nodded. It was really creepy hearing about an entire team of Annihilator experts getting insta-killed for trespassing on the Sky Demon Cenotaphs.

“Me and the Zadin clan’s Roderick have a relationship, and I won’t lie, I’ve eaten a Life Advancement Bead myself. If you’re willing to tell me all that you’ve learned about the Fiends truthfully, I’ll help you obtain one,” Xia Fei calmly offered with his hands behind his back.

Hearing these words, Zumi did not break down and cry, praising him as his benefactor, like Xia Fei half-imagined he would. Instead, Zumi shook his head helplessly, “Let’s make our way out of here first before we discuss the matter any further. There’s still a Dragoon waiting for us outside. You’re just a Neophyte Dragoon, while he is an actual Devil Shadow Dragoon. Without a deep grudge, there’s no way he would take the immense risk of coming here. After all, it’s a huge taboo for a Dragoon to fight another Dragoon.”

Xia Fei was startled. What Zumi said made sense. Now that Xia Fei knew that he was going up against a Dragoon, even if he made it out of here, he would still be in for a grueling fight. There was no way Ling Boyu would let him return with his life intact.

With that thought in mind, Xia Fei took out the Bixia Orb communication device to examine. As he expected, the signal was blocked.

“Do you have any idea how to get out of here?” Xia Fei asked.

Zumi answered, “First, forcing our way out is definitely a big no-no. All we can do is slowly fumble our way through. As for whether we can make it out of here, and whether the Lord Sky Demon wishes for us to escape, we will have to leave that all to fate.”

With that said, Xia Fei let go of Zumi, while he went over to carefully inspect the mural on the wall. He pointed to his left and said, “We can send your exclusive beasts to take the lead, so we would at least be able to anticipate what we might encounter if anything were to happen.”

Xia Fei shook his head resolutely. “No. You will walk in front!”

*Zing*

Zumi was promptly sweating up a storm, but he bit the bullet and led the way forward.

Though Xia Fei could tell that Zumi knew a lot about the Fiends and was useful to him, how was his life anywhere comparable to that of Furball and Little Goldie? If someone needed to die first, It was of course going to be him!