Chapter 61: Special Enrolment

Ye Jingshan was watching the video recording of Xia Fei and Chen Dong’s fight in his office, and he used a pencil to outline the inconceivable dodging motions that Xia Fei executed on a piece of paper.

There was hardly anyone in this day and age who would use such a primitive tool like pencil and paper. It was much easier to use brain-imaging or computer-assisted drawing than to do it by hand, but Ye Jingshan still maintained this tedious and inefficient habit of hand-drawing. He was convinced that it was the act of manually drawing things that could increase his personal understanding of the moves.

Ye Jingshan’s hand-drawing method was simple yet effective, and a combination of a few lines was all it took for him to very clearly depict the crux of Xia Fei’s movement.

Tapping his pencil on that quarto-sized notepad in his hand, Ye Jingshan fell into deep thought, dense wrinkles gathering on his forehead.

Xia Fei’s movement could be described as strange and weird, completely incomprehensible with common sense. Aside from understanding the subtlety in those moves, Ye Jingshan was still unable to comprehend how the youth had been able to move his center of gravity as he did.

Rising to his feet, he imitated Xia Fei’s movements in the middle of his office, experimenting it many times. Even though he was able to mimic every move made, he was unable to control his center of gravity, and the same move Xia Fei had used to evade Chen Dong’s torrential assault time and again only caused him to haphazardly fall to the ground time and again.

The moves could be split into form and intent, and Crafty Approach, which came from Phantom’s discipleship, belonged to their secret Shadow Kill series; it was not something outsiders could easily grasp.

Ye Jingshan had only come to understand the form of Crafty Approach but was ultimately unable to fathom the intent behind the moves.

Actually, Ye Jingshan was not the only one who wanted to comprehend these moves of Xia Fei. The task of trying to crack these moves was already being vigorously undertaken by the entire Endaro Star Region in secret.

These moves Xia Fei had demonstrated possessed great practical application to actual combat, and there would be a profound impact in major organizations if any succeeded in unraveling it.

Xia Fei was merely an intermediate Star Base Speed Ability user, and after learning Crafty Approach, he was able to fight toe-to-toe with a Star Domain rank Chen Dong who possessed a Nature special ability. Such a level of actual combat efficacy was tempting to others, while of course Xia Fei’s firm resolve also played a crucial role, and either was indispensable to each other.

After experimenting with it a few more times, Ye Jingshan helplessly shook his head and got back to his seat. He flipped through his notepad again but was still unable to gain further insight.

How was he supposed to know that Phantom had so daringly taught Xia Fei Crafty Approach, expecting him to use it so publicly? Evidently, it meant that he had absolute confidence in the secrets to Crafty Approach not being grasped so easily.

Even Xia Fei himself would have a very tough time describing clearly why he had been able to do all the difficult moves he did; Phantom had not taught Crafty Approach in full to Xia Fei, only hinting from the sidelines and not once inculcating the mindset behind it.

That was why Xia Fei could only be considered a practitioner of Crafty Approach and not one who could impart it to someone else. He was even incapable of expressing the profound mystery behind the approach, which just went to show the extent of consideration Phantom had undertaken in order to keep the secret.

The communicator on his desk suddenly rang, and Ye Jingshan reached out for it and tapped on the button to answer. A display appeared, showing an old man in his seventies to him. Indubitably, this was the president of Endaro Star Region’s Adjudicator Union, Robert.

“Chief Ye,” very courteously greeted Robert. Though Ye Jingshan was no longer a deputy department chief in the headquarters, he remained as respectful toward him.

Ye Jingshan furrowed his brows. “President Robert, I’m merely the camp commander of Heaven Execution Training Camp—your subordinate. It’s best if you drop the honorific. Just calling my name will do.”

Robert chuckled. “It’s fine if you don’t want me to call you chief, but you won’t call me president from here onward too, and we can just address each other using names. How does that sound?”

Ye Jingshan impassively nodded. “Is something the matter?’

“It’s like this. I want to send two young men over to your boot camp for further training, and I wish to hear your opinion on this.” Robert spoke, still as polite as ever.

Robert was Ye Jingshan’s superior; all the former needed to do was give an order to the latter regarding any decision he made, and it would be done. There was no need to consult the other, yet he put himself in a position wherein he would immediately rescind the idea if Ye Jingshan disagreed.

“Who are they? Do I know them?”

Robert rubbed his chin and gave a hint. “Not only do you know these two young men, I’m afraid the entire star region knows them, too; they are of course Xia Fei and Chen Dong—the pair who fought for twenty-one days, which ended in a draw.”

“Oh.” Ye Jingshan nodded, his finger tapping his desk lightly a few times. “I’ve watched the match of those two. Were it not for Xia Fei, Chen Dong would most definitely be first in that assessment. It’s such a pity that he ended up getting entangled with Xia Fei and his weird moves, fighting till he fell into a coma but still unable to eke out a win against Xia Fei.”

“So what do you think? Do you think either of them has the qualifications to join Heaven Execution Training Camp?” Robert somewhat excitedly asked.

“They do indeed have the qualifications. Just from the dedication they’ve shown toward achieving victory, it’s enough for them to join the training camp, though Xia Fei will be a little troublesome,” stated Ye Jingshan.

“Oh? What problems does Xia Fei have?” Robert curiously probed.

Ye Jingshan told Robert about the incident in which his three supervisors had fought with one another to get Xia Fei specially enrolled, and he responded with uproarious laughter when Ye Jingshan concluded. “To think it’s because he is too popular… And here I was thinking that Xia Fei failed to make the grade some way or another.”

After a moment of thought, Robert asked, “So how do you intend to deal with this?”

“Getting Xia Fei to join our training camp is a must. Those strange moves he demonstrated have already gotten the attention of the whole star region, and we mustn’t let the Hermit Syndicate poach this talent. I’ve got a few possible solutions up my sleeves, but let me mull on it for a couple of days first to find a more appropriate way to deal with this,” Ye Jingshan suggested.

At the end of the day, he was still an ex-deputy department chief from the headquarters, so there was no reason he would be unable to handle such a small matter, considering he had the experience and aptitude for the role.

Robert very happily mused. “I feel reassured hearing you say that. I’ll be holding a press conference right now, announcing Xia Fei and Chen Dong’s special enrollment to the Heaven Execution Training Camp, awarding them their apprentice adjudicator badge.”

…

Robert terminated his call to Ye Jingshan and poured himself a cup of tea. Only he himself was aware of the great stress he had experienced after that episode with the missing candidates.

Very few people were privy to its occurrence, thanks to the confidentiality policy he had imposed surrounding the matter; the classified investigation was still ongoing, though it was unfortunate that they had not discovered any trace of the culprit even now.

*Knock knock knock*

A series of knocks came from the other side of his office door.

“Come in,” somberly called Robert.

The chief monitoring officer of Crisis grade assessment, Robert’s trusted aide Sean, came in.

Shutting the door behind him, Sean quick-stepped to the front of Robert and spoke in a hushed voice. “I’ve just uncovered a few problems.”

Robert’s face froze. Sean was the team leader of the Adjudicator Union’s classified investigations team. His report must be related to the kidnapped candidates.

“What problems? Have you uncovered any trail regarding the kidnapped candidates?” Robert anxiously asked.

Sean shook his head. “No. I discovered that the main computer had been secretly tampered with. Xia Fei’s opponent in the first round should not have been Chen Dong but rather a candidate by the name of Chang Yuanning. Someone swapped their names out.”

Robert was stunned. The lots for the tournament this time had automatically been computer-generated. Tampering with the computer’s ballot results required at least a four-star access clearance, and presently there were only five individuals who possessed four-star access clearance to the assessment command: Robert himself, Sean, and the three key examiners for the assessment.

Robert could eliminate himself and Sean, which left only Xiao Haili, Queiroz, and Bosingwa.

Xiao Haili was his student, while Bosingwa and Queiroz were people whom he knew very well, or else he would not have asked Team 13 to run such an important assessment.

Robert wrinkled his forehead. “Are you certain about that?”

Sean nodded. “Absolutely. The tamperer was thorough, but he still left a few barely noticeable traces behind.”

Robert leaned back, a ghastly expression on his face. He had not once imagined that his most trusted Team 13 would be the one causing trouble.

“Continue your investigation. Inform me if anything crops up.” Robert’s eyes were staring at the ceiling, a sheen of liquid forming.

…

On a scenic island near the Great Barrier Reef, Eastern Australia.

Xia Fei was lying on a lounge chair, basking in the sun. A round table was to his right, and bottles, which seemed to contain dark beer, were on it.

These were all the secret rejuvenation potions Xia Fei had concocted following Phantom’s instructions. This assessment had utterly drained Xia Fei. The twenty-one days of continuous battle, be it physically or mentally, had pushed him to the very extreme on either front. He would need proper, long rest to avoid permanently damaging himself.

Reaching out for one of the bottles, Xia Fei uncorked it with his mouth and drank its content at one go. This beverage was highly effective in replenishing his physical energy and in regulating his body, though it was acrid in taste, similar to Chinese herbal medicine. Drinking too much of it would cause his tongue to lose his sense of taste temporarily, and the only flavor that remained was its astringency which lingered in his mouth.

Both Xia Fei and Chen Dong were given exceptional admission, something no one questioned when it was announced, greatly increasing the reputation of the Adjudicator Union as a result.

The tenacious display that both men had demonstrated sent shockwaves throughout the entire Endaro Star Region. Everyone believed that what the Adjudicator Union had done was the correct move. Both youths were indubitably eligible to join the Heaven Execution Training Camp.

“How long do I have to drink this for… My mouth is almost dying from this bitterness. I’m sure I can hardly stomach even the most decadent delicacy out there,” complained Xia Fei as he placed the jug down.

Phantom, who was lying not too far away from him on the beach, responded, “Three more days should do. You need to completely recuperate your body, or else it will cause future complications.”

Xia Fei picked up a bottle of mineral water and guzzled it, hoping he could rid his mouth of the taste, but the result was far from satisfactory.

“We’re going to a place in a few days’ time,” said Phantom.

“Where?”

“You’re about to take your first steps into the cosmos, and the cosmos is different from land. You need a good pair of shoes when walking on land—durable and comfortable to wear, but the cosmos is different. Because of how vast it is, what you need is a good spacecraft, so you can fly yourself out to any place you wish.

“Plus, plenty of unknown danger lurks in outer space. Going without a decent spacecraft is akin to taking a rowboat out to an open sea; you’ll simply be courting death,” stated Phantom very matter-of-factly.

Xia Fei immediately sat up from his lounge chair the moment he heard the word ‘cosmos’. He had not simply been dreaming about owning a spaceship for a few days. Even if Phantom did not mention this, Xia Fei already had plans to purchase a spaceship of his. He had been generously rewarded for his participation in the assessment this time, so he had no problem paying for his own ship.

“Ha ha, well said! I’ll log into the interplanetary internet right now and order the Eagle-class frigate. Honestly speaking, I very much adore the design of that ship.” Xia Fei laughed in sheer delight as he said this.

Phantom stood up from the sandy shore and faced him, unsmiling. “It’s fine if you order the second ship you’ll be owning pre-built, but for your very first spacecraft, you must build it with your two hands. A spaceship is the most reliable companion to anyone in this universe. You must understand every detail of it, as well as its performance, and there’s no faster way than by building it yourself.”

Xia Fei was startled, the excitement he was feeling well beyond words. “Are you saying that I need to build a ship to call my own with my two hands?”

“That’s right. Choose every part seriously. See with your own eyes as your ship gets fitted piece by piece.”