Chapter 3721 — Foolhardy
The recovery score was calculated in direct correspondence with the strength score: the recovery time was multiplied by the appropriate ratio to arrive at the value.
For example, if someone chose a full-force strike at the early Foundation Establishment stage, their strength score would be twenty points;
If they needed an hour to recover, that meant the injury was a negligible scratch, and their recovery score would equal ten-tenths of the strength score—twenty points as well;
If they needed half a day to recover, that meant a light injury, and their recovery score would be eighty percent of the strength score—sixteen points;
If they needed a full day to recover, that meant a moderate injury, and their recovery score would be sixty percent of the strength score—twelve points;
If they needed three days to recover, that meant a severe injury, and their recovery score would be forty percent of the strength score—eight points;
If they needed more than three days to recover, that meant the injury was extremely grave, and their recovery score would be twenty percent of the strength score—four points.
Anyone who had not recovered after more than ten days received a score of zero! For such defensive capability was simply too wretched—they had done nothing but luck out and survive!
The strength score and the recovery score added together gave the total for this second trial segment. Such a scoring method not only assessed each person's defensive capability but also took recovery into account; after all, for cultivators, injury was all but unavoidable, and so self-recovery was likewise a vital ability.
Once all the newcomers had assembled, Pavilion Master Hu Yunfeng finally made his belated appearance. And among the crowd that came with him this time, at the very center stood an elder—none other than Zhao Hongbo, the Fourth Elder of the Qingyun Pavilion, who had shown his face on the previous newcomer guidance day.
Beyond that, Wei Zhao also spotted the several Law Enforcement Hall experts he had met just days ago. Along with them appeared two old acquaintances, Xu Lingchong and Shangguan Lan'er.
While everyone's attention was fixed on Zhao Hongbo and his party, Li Zhengming stealthily shot Wei Zhao a look. Wei Zhao answered with a knowing smile, signaling that he was well aware.
Late the previous night, he had received a piece of intelligence from Li Zhengming. It listed in detail the plans Meng Jueming, Xu Lingchong, and their lot had conspired to carry out, so it was no surprise at all that he saw these Law Enforcement Hall people today—for they were precisely the key links in that plan, the ones meant to deal with him.
At the thought that Xu Lingchong and the rest had exhausted every trick and scheme to put him to death, Wei Zhao could not help a surge of helplessness. All he had ever wanted was to cultivate in peace. This pack of vermin truly would not let a man be—what a clamor they raised.
Still, though for the moment he had no good way to strike first and wipe out these mortal enemies, with all the means at Wei Zhao's disposal, plus the two insiders Zhong Yongliang and Li Zhengming, protecting himself was no problem at all.
You have your Zhang Liang's schemes; I have my ladder over the wall. There was plenty of time ahead—sooner or later he would find the right moment for a single, fatal blow.
Hu Yunfeng took the stage, motioned for the newcomers to quiet down, and then proclaimed in a ringing voice: "This Elder Zhao Hongbo—I trust I need not introduce him further. He has profound attainments in the healing of injuries. Since this endurance trial is highly prone to danger, the Elders' Council has specially assigned Elder Zhao to serve as the special judge for this newcomer trial segment. He will oversee fairness and impartiality, and should any of you suffer a fatal injury during the challenge, he will step in at once to treat it—though in that case, you may as well give up any hope of scoring points in this segment."
Pausing briefly, Hu Yunfeng then gestured toward the several Law Enforcement Hall experts. "These few—you met them just three days ago. They will serve as the examiners for this endurance trial. Of course, before that, Elder Zhao will seal their strength down to the corresponding level, so as long as you choose a given strength tier, you will not face an attack beyond that tier. Rest easy on that point."
Hearing this, the assembled newcomers visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
Judging by their aura, these Law Enforcement Hall experts were clearly beings who transcended the peak of early Foundation Establishment. With such people as examiners, the fear was that even if one chose the Heaven-tier grand-completion level, the other party might still misjudge his control and land an early Foundation Establishment strike—or something even stronger—on them. That would be no laughing matter.
Fortunately, since their strength would be sealed on the spot by Zhao Hongbo, there should be no problem. What was more, even if something did go wrong, Zhao Hongbo would step in to treat them in time. Such arrangements were already quite thorough; a fatal accident was hardly likely.
Unless one was foolhardy enough to challenge above one's tier—then death would truly be no one's fault but one's own. It really bore out the saying: if you do not court death, you will not die. But cultivators with that kind of idiot intelligence were better off done away with anyway!
Yet just as the newcomers were breathing their sighs of relief, the corner of Wei Zhao's mouth curved upward in a faint, mocking arc.
The intelligence Li Zhengming had provided stated it plainly: whether Zhao Hongbo or these Law Enforcement Hall experts, in truth they had all secretly colluded with Xu Lingchong—every one of them a key link in the scheme against him. Add Meng Jueming, Meng Zhou, and the rest, and one could say the entire endurance trial was a trap they had laid, just waiting for him to crawl inside.
What a grand piece of theater indeed! Wei Zhao curled his lip in derision. As for how things would unfold next, he already knew it like the back of his hand.
"Before the trial begins, this Pavilion Master will give you one last reminder: points are important, yes—but if you overreach yourselves and end up in a state where you have the life to earn them but not the life to enjoy them, then you have no one to blame but yourselves. Especially certain newcomers who love to show off. A challenge above one's tier sounds glorious, but alas—that is no hero, only a fool!"
As he spoke, Hu Yunfeng cast a meaningful glance at Wei Zhao amid the crowd, giving the distinct impression that the remark was aimed squarely at him.
The eyes of the surrounding newcomers converged on Wei Zhao, many of them laced with mockery and derision. Was not Wei Zhao precisely the kind of "newcomer who loves to show off" that Hu Yunfeng had spoken of?
"Heh... So the fatal trap tailor-made to target my weaknesses has already begun, has it?" Wei Zhao gave a faint, unconcerned smile.
Anyone fond of putting on airs might ordinarily be calm and rational enough—but once belittled and mocked, they would invariably scheme to slap the other party's face through their actions, even to the point of recklessly forcing the issue. That was their greatest weakness—and it was Wei Zhao's greatest weakness as well!
(.)RU