Chapter 3683 — So What?

After all, for the Threefold Pavilion, holding these newcomer trials was largely about getting the newcomers to gather spirit herbs. But if the final harvest amounted to only a tiny bit—not even enough to cover the value of those generous rewards—they would be operating at a loss, and that would be truly laughable.

And since the average score in each trial generally reached around five hundred points, the two-hundred-point base threshold was for the most part ignored. This time, however, owing to the unusual circumstances of the trial, it proved useful for once.

If Wei Zhao demanded more, the likely outcome would be that even those newcomers who finished in the top ten would fall short of the two-hundred-point base, and thus lose out on their rewards entirely.

Wei Zhao's demand of one hundred points happened to take exactly that into account. Everyone present could hand over a hundred points and still retain at least two hundred, so none of the rewards they were due would be missing.

For them, this way there was no obvious loss. After all, when contending for the top ten, their real competitors were one another; how many points Wei Zhao and his group held was neither here nor there. So long as they stayed above the base threshold and could still compete fairly among themselves, Wei Zhao could take as many points as he liked—there was no need at all to risk sticking their necks out and falling out with him.

These people were not truly soft targets, after all; they were, every one of them, heaven-grade grand completion experts. Though the field was now completely under Wei Zhao's control, the moment vital interests were at stake—if they were pushed too hard, and someone with a mind to do so fanned the flames a little—a fierce backlash was very likely.

And Wei Zhao, for all his strength, was ultimately just one man. Once this crowd fell into chaos, it would be very hard to keep the situation as perfectly in hand as it was now.

Wei Zhao had already calculated it in his heart: charging each person a hundred points as a penalty would both safeguard the interests of his own group and keep him from making bitter enemies of every newcomer.

These people had only thrown in their lot with Meng Jueming for the sake of profit, after all; their loyalty was hardly deep. If he came down on them too hard this time, it would instead let Meng Jueming reap the fisherman's gain, driving these people wholly into the other camp to become his mortal enemies—such a foolish move Wei Zhao would never make.

Soon the newcomers each handed over spirit herbs worth a hundred points, briskly enough, and then one by one they watched Wei Zhao with uneasy faces, dreading that he might go back on his word at the last moment.

Some had even already decided that if Wei Zhao broke his promise, they would immediately flee just as Meng Zhou and Li Zhengming had before—in the ensuing confusion there would surely be an opening. And if Wei Zhao found himself caught between advance and retreat, so much the better; they might even find a chance to turn the tables and rob him in return!

But Wei Zhao, plainly, was not so insatiably greedy as these people imagined. After a brief tally of the spirit herbs, he simply waved his hand and let them go.

The crowd was instantly overcome with relief and hurried off one after another. And because Wei Zhao had let them off the hook, the final looks they cast his way were not as hostile as one might have expected—at least no great ill will was visible. It was Meng Zhou, the first to flee, who became the object of their contempt in that moment.

"These spirit herbs—the two of you split them half and half," Wei Zhao said, turning to look at Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai.

The two of them were struck dumb on the spot. Half and half meant five hundred points apiece, which would bring Xiao Che's final total to a thousand, and even Qiao Hongcai, who had nothing at all, would end up with five hundred.

"I've done the figuring. This way, at least two of the three of us are guaranteed a place in the top three—meaning two Foundation Establishment Pills are no problem, and one each for the two of you will be plenty," Wei Zhao said with a smile. He himself was already an expert at the early Foundation Establishment stage, so a Foundation Establishment Pill was naturally of no use to him.

Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai stood dumbstruck for a good while, staring at the jaw-dropping eighteen hundred points on Wei Zhao's back basket, before the meaning of his words finally sank in. Not knowing what to say, they could only nod blankly.

The three of them's final scores: Wei Zhao eighteen hundred, Xiao Che a thousand, Qiao Hongcai five hundred. With every other newcomer already stripped of a hundred points—and even allowing for the two unknowns, Meng Zhou and Li Zhengming—by any normal reckoning, such results locked in two of the top three beyond all doubt. As for Qiao Hongcai, though he could not break into the top three, he was certain to place in the top five and would fare no worse than that.

As Wei Zhao had intended, the two of them divided the spirit herbs between them, and could not help turning back to ask, "Leader Wei Zhao, when exactly did you break through to become an early Foundation Establishment expert? Why didn't we see the slightest sign of it?"

I broke through back in the mortal world—if you two could have spotted the signs, that would be the real miracle!

"It was only recently," Wei Zhao had no choice but to answer vaguely.

Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai exchanged glances, their eyes instantly filling with even deeper admiration. Then they pointed at the astonishing score on Wei Zhao's back basket and asked curiously, "Then what's the story with these eighteen hundred points? Leader Wei Zhao, you didn't run into some peerless spirit herb, did you—one worth a thousand points all by itself?"

It was an entirely natural guess. By the average standard of five hundred, reaching eight hundred already counted as a rare stroke of luck, and as for eighteen hundred—short of a thousand points falling out of the sky and landing in his lap, they simply could not conceive of a more reasonable explanation.

"You both already know I'm an alchemist. Is it so strange that I'd have a few little tricks when it comes to gathering spirit herbs?" Wei Zhao gave a noncommittal chuckle. Even though the two of them were his underlings, the secret of the Heavenly Thunder Pig concerned the jade pendant's space and could not be casually spoken aloud.

"Er, I suppose that's true." Xiao Che had heard tales of Wei Zhao back in the mortal world, and Qiao Hongcai had once heard a word or two from that miserable senior brother of his; both knew he was an alchemist.

As an alchemist, having one's own unique methods and insights when it came to gathering spirit herbs was the most natural thing in the world. By comparison, they themselves were laymen, and could only stand in awe of what they did not understand.

Seeing that time was nearly up, the three of them delayed no longer and followed the map straight back to the Rear Mountain Hall. By now the other newcomers had all returned ahead of them; apart from the three of them, only Meng Zhou and Li Zhengming had yet to arrive.

A short while later, as noon approached, Meng Zhou and Li Zhengming finally came sauntering in, late to the last.

On seeing the three of them, Meng Zhou still felt a lingering dread, but on an occasion like this, even Wei Zhao would not dare lay a hand on him, so he grew bold and swaggering, and proclaimed smugly, "So you're the newcomer who puts on such airs! This time the first place is mine for the taking. So what if you reached Foundation Establishment ahead of me? You still can't outdo me!" RS