Super Gene Optimization Fluid

Extreme torture had always been Xia Fei's forte, but today, this performance was not for him but rather for Little Schott, a young man who had a modicum of potential in the entire Aurora Clan.

Xia Fei proceeded to place asparagus in his mouth as if nothing had happened, his eyes trained on Little Schott, who was seated across from him.

He saw the young man trembling so badly that a good third of the wine in his glass, which he had raised to his lips to sip, had spilled.

"Actually, most men have a fatal spot, which is their crotch area. Even if you break all the bones of cowardly men, they won't spit out a word, but if you break their family jewels, making it impossible for them to continue their bloodline, then even the hardiest man won't be able to take it," explained Xia Fei softly.

This was all his experience talking. When it came to being ruthless, he would definitely be like the devil from hell. Witnessing Lazlow get tortured had given Little Schott quite the shock and fright. After all, this was his first time bearing witness to such a thing, and it had been through the most sinister means, too.

"I really can't believe that the Laz Clan is behind all this!" Little Schott said fiercely and then downed his glass of wine.

Lazlow explained that he was actually a distant relative of another major local clan, the Laz. Three years ago, the Laz Clan came looking for him and got him to gather a gang of hooligans to cause trouble at the Aurora Clan's territory. Aside from the free food and drinks that they got to enjoy from the Aurora Clan, the Laz Clan even paid them regularly for their 'work'.

How would anyone not participate in something so good? As such, these people stayed for a whole three years. Not only did the Aurora Clan's remaining fortune dwindle under this large group of parasites' incessant mooching off, more importantly, even its reputation was affected after housing them.

Xia Fei asked sans missing a beat, "How much do you know about the Laz Clan?"

Little Schott heaved a sigh. "The Tarot Galaxy is vast, and plenty of famous warrior clans are based in it. On this planet, there are three major clans: the Laz, the Ping, and the Aurora Wist. Our strength is about the same, though the Aurorean people are a bit more famous. We seldom have contact with the Lazs on normal occasions; I really couldn't fathom why they'd do something like this."

Xia Fei laughed. "There's no such thing as hate for no reason, so perhaps the Aurorean people have already made an enemy out of the Laz Clan without even knowing it."

Little Schott refuted this. "That's unlikely. Even if there's bad blood between us, there shouldn't be any reason for them to use such a clumsy method to get back at us. Though our clan has declined in recent times, we shouldn't have any problems holding onto an external compound. There's no way that they expect these people's consumption to drain our clan's funds completely."

Xia Fei scoffed. "You dummy. Do you think that they intend to bring down the clan? 'Even a skinny camel is bigger than a horse'; don't you understand this saying? Don't forget. We're talking about a bunch of wastrels, and their stay on Aurorean land is just to bring down the clan's reputation, causing trouble at its expense. Don't you know that many of the people living around the compound have already moved away? It's all thanks to these drunkard louts and their shenanigans."

Xia Fei implied with his words that the emptying of the clan coffers was not caused by those moochers in the compound but rather by the Aurorean spending an astronomical sum just to purchase soul weapons! Hence, the Laz Clan's goal was not to bankrupt the Aurora Clan but to sully its good name, instead!

Because of the accumulated goodwill over the many years that the Aurora Clan had existed, many of the locals had yet to bear a grudge against it, but if these hooligans continued with their ruckus, how would the clan's reputation be in ten years, a hundred?

"The Lazs are really vicious! Aren't they simply kicking us while we are down? Plus, they're trying to ruin the good reputation that our ancestors and elders have accumulated all this time!" Little Schott abruptly got up from his chair, his expression grim. The moment the conversation went to the clan's reputation, it was as if someone had stabbed his back despite being one of the youngest members. There was a drastic change in his mood.

Xia Fei yawned out of boredom. While the Aurorean were deeply concerned with reputation, Xia Fei did not care much about it. In his view, it did not matter whether someone was a good or bad person. What mattered was that his enemies were all dead and that he and those people he loved would be able to lead good lives.

"With how the chips have fallen, it doesn't matter how much you complain. What matters now is how to get everything back," Xia Fei said softly.

"Okay, I'll go find the elders of the clan and explain the situation!" said Little Schott with clenched fists.

Xia Fei laughed in amusement. "What can those old people do even if you tell them about this? Will they set aside their face and eliminate the Laz Clan? Besides, what proof do you have?"

His words were a little provocative, Little Schott had instantly looked stumped.

Indeed, the Aurora Clan cared too much about its reputation and was too kind for its own good. Telling those elders about this matter would at most elicit a smile from them as they turned their other cheek.

"Then what do I do?" asked Little Schott.

Xia Fei thought for a moment and smirked. "If you're unwilling to be bullied by others, then come find me tonight at midnight. Remember: You mustn't say a word about what has happened today. I'm not an Aurorean. My surname is Xia, Xia Fei."

Little Schott was no fool. Though he had no idea what Xia Fei was thinking, he knew that there were some things that could not be done with too much noise. As such, he nodded. However, Xia Fei being able to recite the Aurora Clan's secret precepts clearly meant that he was one of them; Little Schott simply could not make sense why he would be unwilling to admit to this.

Exiting the restaurant, Xia Fei stood on the main street and looked around. He then asked, "Radix, where's the largest local trading company? I have to prepare some things in advance before tonight's operation."

Radix gave it some thought and answered, "The four biggest firms in the Alpha Universe have branches on this planet. Any of them is impressive in its own right; it all depends on what you're looking to buy."

Xia Fei replied, "Items that can be used for making soul weapons."

Radix was momentarily stunned, stating, "Fischer, Heavenly Treasure, Inoue, and Lifeng are the four leading trading firms in the Alpha Universe. If what you need is embryonic vessels to turn into soul weapons, I suggest that you visit Heavenly Treasure."

...

Heavenly Treasure Firm.

The storefront was not too ostentatious, but the compound covered a wide area. Xia Fei stood at the entrance for a while to look. Radix commented, "The four leading trading firms all have deep heritage. No matter where you find a Heavenly Treasure branch, the architectural design will always be the same. The various shops act as front. All the transactions are actually conducted internally, while the physical shops only provide consultation, not services."

Xia Fei nodded and entered the shop. Sure enough, there were no products on display inside, only smiling staff, who patiently guided clients where they should head for their trades and where the catalogs could be found.

The one that greeted Xia Fei was a fairly attractive woman with slender eyes and monolid; she had a professional smile on her face.

"Sir, is there anything that I can help you with?" inquired the young lady.

Xia Fei queried, "I need to purchase some basic soul goods. Any idea where I should look to buy them?"

The young lady froze. Anyone who heard what Xia Fei had just said would naturally freeze up. Several eyes darted to Xia Fei.

"Basic soul goods? You mean basic soul vessels?"

"Is this young man a Spiritualist? That can't be, right? He's so young!"

Xia Fei felt very awkward. What both Radix and he did not understand was that, while something like a basic soul vessel was sold by these firms, there had never been anyone who would come swaggering in to buy them. This was because only a Spiritualist could use basic soul vessels, and as Spiritualists were the precious profession in this universe, how could they so easily appear in public like this?

"Sir, are you a Spiritualist?" asked the young lady, her eyes sparkling in excitement.

Xia Fei shook his head. "No, these are just something someone else asked me to purchase for them."

Under everyone's gaze, Xia Fei followed the lady deeper into the compound; they arrived at a fairly secluded but luxurious area.

As per usual, good tea and fruit were served, and a middle-aged man swiftly entered the room, calling for all the other staff to leave it before looking at Xia Fei smilingly. "This one is called Kira; I'm the president of Heavenly Treasure Firm's Garde 83's planetary branch. May I know how I shall address you?"

"Xia Fei."

"I see. I heard that you're interested in purchasing basic soul vessels."

"Yes."

"Hmm… I see. Honestly, Garde 83 is Heavenly Treasure's only shop on this planet. You may be unable to buy basic soul vessels if you go to any other trading firms. This is our inventory; please take a look."

Kira handed over a thin booklet to Xia Fei, who proceeded to peruse it without a word, while Kira sat watching at the side.

"These are all the stocks that our branch has. If you're dissatisfied, I can help you request the full catalog from the headquarters, though I'm uncertain if you plan to use these items yourself, or…" Kira courteously ventured.

"I'm purchasing these for someone else. As for that full catalog, there's no need for that. What's needed now isn't much, and the items that I see in this booklet are enough. Still, I have no way of clearly distinguishing what I need through the images and descriptions provided. Do you mind taking these items out for me to look at in person?" asked Xia Fei as he closed the booklet.

"Yes, of course. Please wait here a moment. I'll immediately have someone bring over what you want."

With that said, Kira got up to take his leave. He instructed his subordinates with a few words and went into the next room. A young girl was seated inside this room, with a silver-haired kitten on her lap. She was looking at a screen, and displayed on it was Xia Fei, who was sipping tea while he smoked a stick.

Kira said nothing and quietly stood beside the girl. The girl, meanwhile, simply kept stroking the kitten as she watched Xia Fei.

Very soon, someone brought sixteen basic soul vessels into the room, and the two saw Xia Fei lightly touch each with a finger, and then he no longer did anything else. The entire process only took a few minutes.

"Young Miss, what are your thoughts?" asked Kira somberly.

The young girl placed the kitten on the floor and lightly tapped the image with Xia Fei on it. "This person is at least a Spiritualist's disciple if he's not one himself."

Kira was slightly shocked. Was he a Spiritualist or a Spiritualist's disciple? Considering how rare a Spiritualist was in the Alpha Universe, either possibility was enough to have Xia Fei to be on the cutting edge.

"Given how young he is and how his body lacks any energy pulses, are you certain that you did not make a mistake? He already said so himself: He's just buying basic soul vessels on behalf of someone else," said Kira hesitantly.

"It's not possible. Basic soul vessels are necessary for the creation of soul weapons. Someone who isn't in the circle will never be able to determine how good or bad the soul vessels. This Xia Fei merely used a few minutes to choose what he needed. That's a level of eyesight that I can't achieve, nor can you, for neither of us has undergone professional training of that kind."

The young girl turned off the screen and lifted the kitten into her arms again. She said in a low voice to Kira, "Since this is related to Spiritualists, we'll do everything the old fashioned way. On top of that, be sure to leave my card with him."