Chapter 3554 — The Guide Envoy

A sharp glint flashed in the man's eyes. He flicked his sleeve, and an invisible surge of force shot from his palm; Dongfang Badao was slammed flat onto the ground with a loud thud, where he thrashed about for a good while before he managed to scramble to his feet, his face crimson with shame—though he no longer dared to make a scene.

Anyone who could discipline a man from a distance like that had to be a cultivator of extraordinary caliber—one of a kind across the entire cultivation world. Even Wei Zhao could not have done it!

"Truly, pitifully weak." The man gave a cold snort, then said with a trace of impatience to Wei Zhao and the others before him, "I am the guide envoy of the northern island of the Heaven Rank. I am to take you to the Welcome Pavilion on the northern island to register. Among you newcomers, who will come with me?"

"Ah! Senior, Senior, I will!" By now Dongfang Badao had completely shed his earlier arrogance. He could no longer gauge this man's cultivation at all—clearly the fellow outranked him, and on top of that, he was here to escort them to some Welcome Pavilion. Now was certainly no time to make trouble.

"You old fool, what are you hollering about? You have already offended the guide envoy. Better that I go!" Kang Jingming spoke up at once. The flying spirit beast looked as though it could carry only two or three people—who knew whether it could even seat three—so he had to fight for his own chance.

"My spirit beast can carry only three," the man said mildly. "That being so, you two come up first."

"Ah, we are coming too!" Zhong Yongliang seized Wei Zhao by the arm and said to Kang Jingming and Dongfang Badao, "Surely you are not going to contend with us for the spots?"

Among those present, Wei Zhao's strength ranked highest, with Zhong Yongliang next. So with Zhong Yongliang pulling Wei Zhao along to board first, the others likely would not dare stand in their way.

"Zhong Yongliang, from what I know, you and Wei Zhao were enemies once! You were fond of Gu Mengyao, and this brat stole her from you. I was fond of Guan Xin, and he stole her from me too. The two of us ought to join forces against him! How about this: you and I team up, we board first, and we kick that old fool Dongfang Badao off!" Sensing trouble, Kang Jingming hurried to speak before Wei Zhao could get ahead of him.

Zhong Yongliang was just about to refuse when Wei Zhao gave a subtle shake of his head and shot him a look.

Wei Zhao meant for Zhong Yongliang to go on ahead and for himself to stay behind.

It was not that Wei Zhao was unwilling to leave. Rather, he reasoned that since there were people on this so-called northern island of the Heaven Rank, they could hardly be picking up only a few and abandoning all the rest. And of everyone here, the one on the worst terms with Wei Zhao was Kang Jingming. So Wei Zhao wanted Zhong Yongliang to keep an eye on the fellow and make sure he did not run his mouth off in front of that guide envoy.

"Well… all right then." Catching on at once, Zhong Yongliang leaped forward and jabbed a finger at Dongfang Badao. "Old man Dongfang, unless you fancy a spar with me, the Mad Dragon?"

"Hmph!" Dongfang Badao already knew that Zhong Yongliang was none other than the Mad Dragon Patriarch of the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow sect from years past. The Mad Dragon Divine Art had dealt him grievous injury back in the mortal world, so he was no match for Zhong Yongliang. Reluctant as he was, he had no choice but to watch as Zhong Yongliang and Kang Jingming climbed onto the flying spirit beast.

"May I ask… what are we to do?" Dongfang Badao could not help asking.

"Do as you please. My task is to bring two outstanding talents back with me. The rest of you—this pack of the old, the weak, the sick, and the crippled—are too feeble. Wait here!" The man curled his lip and spoke with mockery.

With that, he set the flying spirit beast in motion. It rose into the air and bore Kang Jingming and Zhong Yongliang away…

Dongfang Badao was beside himself with fury, and a touch of regret crept into his heart. If he had not put on airs and let slip that unpleasant remark, would he have been left behind like this? And now, to make matters worse, others had snatched his place.

What he could not fathom, however, was that Wei Zhao sat cross-legged on the high platform, utterly at ease, cultivating. Did the brat feel no urgency at all?

Wei Zhao's guess had been right. Just as the others were craning their necks in wait, another flying spirit beast flew over. This time, though, the rider was a man in his fifties or sixties, his gaze deeply sinister. Drawing up beside the high platform, he cast a cold look over the crowd and, before anyone could speak, pointed at Dongfang Badao and Wufa the Boxer. "You two newcomers, up!"

Dongfang Badao was up in years, and being called a newcomer nettled him. But having already learned firsthand how formidable these people were, he dared not make the slightest scene now. Since someone had come to fetch him, he hurried onto the flying spirit beast.

Wufa the Boxer was somewhat puzzled as well, but he followed onto the beast. Clearly, this guide envoy in his fifties or sixties had a particular interest in newcomers advanced in years.

Now the only ones left on the platform were Wei Zhao and a skilled lone cultivator from a minor family—the most taciturn person here, who had said not a word since ascending the platform.

This man was Xiao Che, from the Xiao family, a very minor cultivation clan in the mortal world. The family had once been a low-ranking ancient house, but after several generations of meager strength, it had been struck from the rolls of the ancient stratum and had never risen again.

In this generation, at long last, a cultivation prodigy named Xiao Che had appeared, and only then had the family reentered the Heaven Rank Assembly. The Xiao family still pinned its hopes on Xiao Che breaking through the heavenly dao and returning to restore the family's former glory…

Raised in such a family, Xiao Che had learned to keep his head down; he dared not offend anyone, for any offense could bring utter ruin upon his clan. But now only he and Wei Zhao remained, and after several dealings with Wei Zhao of late, he had formed a favorable impression of the man. So he rose to his feet and said to Wei Zhao with a wry smile, "Brother Lin, with your strength, you could have left long ago… why…"

"Ha ha, since they have all gone, there is no reason to keep us here. I expect someone will come for us soon enough," Wei Zhao said with a smile.

"Young Master Lin certainly takes things in stride!" Xiao Che said with admiration.

"Look, someone is coming now!" Wei Zhao pointed into the distance.

Xiao Che started and looked up. Sure enough, a dark speck in the sky was growing larger and larger—it was the flying spirit beast they had seen before!

As the beast drew near, they could see a boy of about twenty with a face full of freckles upon it. He halted the beast, fixed his eyes on Wei Zhao and Xiao Che, and at once wore an expression of having known all along. "You two, come up. It is like this every time…"