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Chapter 604: Fractal Geometry

Hearing that the Law Enforcement Board would have an internal auction once every month, Xia Fei and Zanian Feng were both very interested. Wolf Shunye was just presently wasting his time in the office, and since they all hit it off, the three decided to head over and have a look.

Past the mysterious Nine Tier Tower was a bamboo garden, and the so-called internal auction was being held in one corner of this bamboo garden.

There were guards stationed around the venue, and all it took was an exchange of a few words from the two young scions of the generational clans, and the three were allowed entry without further question. Though he did not belong to the Law Enforcement Board, Zanian was ultimately someone from Dragon Ascension’s Feng family. The name of the martial hall was quite impactful, and it was useful wherever he went. Besides, there was still Wolf Shunye beside him. Xia Fei, who was considered as their attendant, was allowed inside, too.

There were over a hundred stone plinths among the bamboo, and each one had an item on display with a slip of paper beside them. As long as anyone could fulfill the request stated, they could walk away with the item. There were also some elders who had gathered to chat; a price had to be set in advance before anyone could trade with them.

The small bamboo forest had a sparse 200 individuals. Even if anyone added the people buying and selling, the entire forest could hardly be filled, which contributed to the impression of the place being somewhat quiet and empty.

Generational clans would often have plenty of interaction with one another, so many called Zanian Feng and Wolf Shunye to chat with them. Xia Fei knew no one, so he casually strolled through the venue.

“A grade 6 Origin Crystal!” Phantom exclaimed.

On a stone plinth lay a glimmering blue crystal—a clear indication that it was a grade 6 Origin Crystal!

Going by the conventional exchange rate, a grade 6 Origin Crystal was worth 10,000 grade 4 Origin Crystals, and Xia Fei could only afford 10% of the crystals even if he offered the entirety of his net worth!

What made it all the more precious was the fact that the hierarchical policy of the Law Realm had designated grade 6 and above Origin Crystals as the common currency used by the God Race. The highest Xia Fei could use among the small families and clans was just grade 4, while White Horse Constellation used as high as grade 5. A grade 6 crystal was practically nowhere to be found in the market.

After all, it required a level 6 Energy Master to purify a level 6 Origin Crystal. Xia Fei suspected that it was probably impossible to find anyone capable of doing so here in White Horse Constellation!

A single Origin Crystal solely used by the God Race could be so grandly displayed here in this auction for the Law Enforcement Board. Thus, it could be seen that what Wolf Shunye had said was no lie; there might not be too many items on display in this small auction, but there was no doubt that each of them was top-notch! Xia Fei could not help but feel shocked by what he saw; it was like an endless tide crashing onto him.

Considering the fact that the God Race was the congregation of the best warriors within the circle, there should definitely be quite a few clansmen of the major families who would end up joining the universe’s peak race. This was why it was normal for these elders and seniors to get their hands on things from the God Race, since they likely had close ties with the people who made it in.

The paper slip next to the plinth stated that the grade 6 Origin Crystal was available in exchange for a martial arts technique called Clarion Cry used by Law of Mentalism practitioners. It was said that using the powerful Law of Mentalism to induce a type of mental disturbance could cause large-scale mental paralysis.

Xia Fei shrugged. Forget owning it, he had not even heard of such a law existing before this. Therefore, there was no way he would have what was necessary to obtain the crystal.

This was a rare opportunity for him to see so many precious items first-hand, so he lingered around. He of course had no chance of exchanging for anything here, but he could still look around at the very least to widen his view a little.

Zanian was in a more vexing predicament, however. With how famous Dragon Ascension was, he also rarely had the chance to get involved with the Law Enforcement Board, and this meant that there were plenty of seniors and elders crowding around him, probing him for information as best as they could.

This happened to coincide with the decennial Dragon Ascension Conclave, so of course, plenty of disciples and relatives from the various families and clans, who would participate in the event, were present. All of them were hoping to hear more about the second cycle of examination to prepare their disciples better for what was to come.

Zanian was young. All these seniors and elders around, with many even having studied in Dragon Ascension before, had connections to the Feng family, so it was difficult for Zanian to extricate himself. All he could do was watch Xia Fei get his fill of the place while he dealt with the batches upon batches of old men trying to chat him up. In fact, he had already begun to somewhat regret coming to the Law Enforcement Board with Xia Fei.

His original plan was simply to do Xia Fei a big favor, not only leaving the Dragon Ascension Martial Hall with him but also bringing him to the Law Enforcement Board’s internal auction, which rarely admitted outsiders. Plus, with how Xia Fei was Zanian’s chosen candidate in his first time as a scout of Dragon Ascension, it made a lot of sense that he would be caring about XIa Fei.

“Hmm?” Xia Fei suddenly spotted a strange painting, a kind of fractal geometric picture.

There was an unremarkable metal box on the plinth, and the fractal geometric picture next to it was the request of exchange. The paper description stated that whoever could decipher the picture would be given what was within the box, but it never stated what was within.

Fractal geometry was a mathematical simulation of the natural world, as well as the various irregular phenomena that appeared in scientific research. It was abstract by itself, and this particular fractal geometric picture was extremely complex, so much so that anyone would get dizzy just staring at it for too long!

It was not important to Xia Fei what was actually inside the box as what mattered more was that he had discovered the one thing in the Law Enforcement Board’s internal auction that needed nothing in exchange beyond cracking a complicated and profound fractal geometric picture. It was something Xia Fei could attempt with his own knowledge!

It was like a piece of free cake that deeply attracted Xia Fei. He had always been someone who was heavily curious, so the more the owner did not mention what was inside the box, the more it triggered his bottomless imagination.

There were four chairs by the stone plinth, conveniently placed so that guests could sit down and chat. In the Law Enforcement Board, no one cared about losing anything. Unless someone did not want their life, practically no one would dare act brazenly in front of the board.

Xia Fei sat in one of the chairs, his eyes staring at the extremely complex fractal geometric picture in front of him, his mind working hard.

The profound image was like a black hole that made Xia Fei so completely engrossed in it.

Soon, Zanian spotted Xia Fei sitting like a statue, not moving an inch. There were even several elders who had surrounded him, watching Xia Fei in his stupor from the sidelines.

Zanian was, of course, even more curious, so he dragged Wolf Shunye and made their way over together.

“Fractal geometry!” Zanian exclaimed after looking at the profound image on the stone plinth.

“Ah, this thing.” Wolf Shunye pouted, seemingly having seen this painting before.

“What do you know about this picture of fractal geometry?” Zanian asked in a low voice.

“Not much. I heard that it will be placed here whenever they host this auction. In six months since I joined the Law Enforcement Board, this is the sixth time I’ve seen it,” Wolf Shunye said.

“No one managed to decipher it all this time?”

“Not a soul. Forget deciphering it, many, who lack the mental fortitude, even ended up fainting while looking at it. It’s really peculiar. You’d better get Xia Fei away. This painting is capable of sapping the mental energy of an individual; I even saw people end up vomiting blood just from staring at it.” Wolf Shunye shrugged as he spoke.

This was when an elder looked at the time and said, “Zanian, your friend has quite the fortitude. He’s already stared at the painting for a full twenty-seven minutes. Most young men can hardly last that long.”

Zanian did not make any comment on this, though his mind was already in turmoil.

Xia Fei’s eyes were still entranced, but they were also agile. It was clear that he was thinking and viewing the picture in earnest, which meant that Xia Fei was able to grasp the profound fractal geometry expressed in the painting!

It had to be said that Xia Fei was someone who had gotten a zero during the mathematics assessment of the Dragon Ascension Conclave!

He had only given the assessment paper a quick glance before turning to leave, without even attempting to answer any of the questions. Some of the other candidates at least attempted them, but of course, everyone scored a fat zero.

However, in front of this fractal geometric picture, which was so deeply profound that people would pass out, Xia Fei actually managed to make sense of what he was seeing! This was what was truly unbelievable! This meant that Xia Fei actually had quite decent geometry skills, and the reason why he left after a glance at the paper was that he had already determined the question to be unsolvable! That was also why he did not care to attempt it at all!

Zanian was feeling more and more surprised as he thought about it. Just what sort of standard was Xia Fei at to have been able to determine the assessment question was unsolvable at a glance!

Actually, there was another explanation on why he could solve the mystery of Xia Fei not answering the assessment question, but there was no way Zanian would admit it!

As the people gathered around increased, Xia Fei was like an old monk who had entered a state of concentration, where he had no knowledge of anyone around him.

“Isn’t this Old Woods’ strange painting? Could that young man be attempting to decipher it?”

“That’s not possible. That painting has been placed here in the auction for close to two whole years; some people were curious about it at first and even attempted to solve it, but no one managed to make any headway in the least. Could this young man have really cracked it?”

“I don’t know if he’s found the solution, but he’s already been stationary there for over an hour.”

“He hasn’t fainted after such a long time? That’s some mental fortitude this young man has got! Whose family does he hail from?”

“The Yu family. He’s Xia Fei, the one who got first place in Dragon Ascension Conclave’s initial assessment.”

“Ah, I’ve heard of him.”

There was plenty of discussion being held, and Zanian uneasily swept his gaze around, most likely afraid that his most feared Xia Zonghai would be drawn over as more people gathered.

What made him even more frightened was Xia Fei. Zanian stared at the fractal geometry and could hardly continue after over a dozen minutes, yet Xia Fei had actually been looking at the painting for over an hour without any issues. His fortitude was even greater than his own!

More people crowded. While some began leaving as they got bored, a majority of them were having avid discussions, all in hushed whispers, seemingly afraid of disturbing Xia Fei.

No need for any guesses as it was more or less a given that Xia Fei was attempting to decipher this fractal geometric picture rather than just looking at it out of interest after such a long time!

Three hours passed, and the interest people initially had toward this dwindled. Most originally gathered out of curiosity, and no one truly believed that Xia Fei was capable of making sense of such a painting, which was as profound as the universe. Countless experts had tried but failed, so it would be strange if the young Xia Fei really did decipher it.

“I’m done. I doubt that this young man has a chance, or else he will have already solved it. No reason for him to have sat here for over three hours.”

“Let’s wait a bit longer. I heard that Old Woods is coming over personally, so having a chat with him won’t be too bad.”

“I see. The death of Woods’ daughter has shaken him deeply. It’s been a long time since I saw him as well, so I guess that it’s fine waiting a bit longer.”

Just as everyone was beginning to get impatient, the statue-like Xia Fei suddenly moved!

Xia Fei quickly turned on his terminal and began lightly tapping on the screen; a complex waveform then began to appear!

Spending some time to think, XIa Fei then erased the waveform he had just finished drawing before restarting from scratch. His eyes were filled with passion and interest. He had begun deciphering the fractal geometric picture with 100% fervor!

“This... is a coded waveform! Does he plan to use waveforms to solve this fractal geometric picture?” An elder gasped in skeptical surprise.