Chapter 4132 — The Strength of Di Xingdao

What Wei Zhao had to do now was make certain of one thing: whether Wei Shenjin was dead or not, today's affair had to be pinned on the martial artist Ling Yi, with no connection to his true self whatsoever.

He deliberately lingered a moment, letting the passersby and experts drawn by the commotion get a clear look at his face, and only then did Wei Zhao turn and go, vanishing from everyone's sight.

"That fellow looks a bit familiar—seems I've seen him somewhere before?" Sure enough, one expert among the passersby voiced his puzzlement.

"Huh, isn't this Wei Shenjin of the Snow Sword Sect? Now I remember—a while back the Snow Sword Sect was hunting a man and a woman all over the city, and that fellow just now looked like the man, called Ling Yi or Ling Er or something like that!" Someone caught on quickly.

"Never mind all that—just report this to the Snow Sword Sect and be done with it. Heh, I hear this fellow's quite the peacock, always popular with the women; didn't expect him to end up in such a state today, might even lose his little life. Truly a pitiful sight." One of the experts promptly sent word to the Snow Sword Sect.

Wei Shenjin had been attacked by the martial artist Ling Yi, his life or death unknown—this explosive piece of news instantly shook the entire Snow Sword Sect. This was unlike the earlier elopement with Xue Li: it concerned not only the sect's reputation, but could well mean the loss of a core disciple with boundless prospects. For any power, this was a grave matter!

Looking at Wei Shenjin's body, blown to a bloody pulp, Situ Qian nearly fainted on the spot from weeping. Had it not been for several experts among the passersby insisting that Ling Yi was the culprit, she would have gone straight to the sect's higher-ups and had them pressure Cai Zhongxuan of the Five Elements Merchants' Guild into handing over the true killer.

Once again, the Snow Sword Sect threw every resource into a citywide manhunt for the martial artist Ling Yi—and this time they posted a sky-high bounty of ten thousand spirit jade!

Several days later, under the Snow Sword Sect's all-out efforts to save him, Wei Shenjin finally slipped back from the gates of hell with a faint moan. Yet the news did not lift the spirits of the sect, high or low; even Wei Shenjin himself, upon learning of his condition, was plunged into utter despair and lapsed straight back into unconsciousness.

Beyond the internal and external injuries to his eyes, every meridian in his body had been shattered. Wei Shenjin, the much-watched core disciple of the Snow Sword Sect, was now a cripple—a genius struck down into the dust, unable even to match an ordinary man.

And none of this had anything to do with Wei Zhao. The Snow Sword Sect had stirred up a storm across the city over Wei Shenjin's affair, yet from first to last the blame rested on the shoulders of the nonexistent martial artist Ling Yi, and could not touch him in the slightest.

What Wei Zhao did now was, apart from his daily cultivation, refine a few grade four and grade five pills, then make a round of the Heavenly Pill Pavilion—steadier and more comfortable than ever before.

Since the auction had made its name, customers drawn by word of mouth had come in an unending stream. These past few days the Heavenly Pill Pavilion's business had been unprecedentedly brisk, with average daily sales already approaching the figures of opening day; at this rate business would only improve, and it had now fully settled onto the right track—a sight to gladden the heart.

Yet while Wei Zhao and the others were overjoyed, Di Xingdao had worn a troubled frown these past few days, so helpless that he could only come seek out Wei Zhao to drown his sorrows in drink.

"Brother Tian, what's weighing on your mind?" Wei Zhao kept Di Xingdao company for a few cups before asking. In his eyes, Di Xingdao had always been a man of unyielding spirit—one who had endured even the shattering of all his meridians for so many years—so ordinary troubles should hardly have reduced him to such gloom.

"Ah, Brother Wei Zhao, your old brother here really has been in a funk these past couple of days. The warmth and coldness of human feeling, the fickleness of the world—you truly can't rely on such things. In the end, a man can only rely on himself." Di Xingdao smiled bitterly.

"Brother Tian, tell me—what exactly happened?" Wei Zhao asked.

"A few days ago at that Central Island Grand Auction, I had thought I'd get to see a few old friends, but not one of them showed up. So the day after I got back, I paid a visit to the Island Master's Pavilion atop Central Peak, thinking I'd see my old friends and restore my identity as island master along the way—my injuries are nothing serious now, after all, and it was only a matter of time." Di Xingdao spoke as he drank.

"And then? Something went wrong?" Wei Zhao had a vague guess.

"Hmph. Your old brother thought it was all a matter of course, but that island master refused my request on the grounds that I'd been absent from the Island Master's Pavilion these past years, saying something about needing a meeting to study the matter. And what chilled me most was that those old friends of mine who serve as vice island masters all took the same attitude—not one was willing to stand up and speak for me. It's truly enough to freeze a man's heart and leave him speechless. Damn it, and to think I'd always counted them as sworn brothers who'd die for me!" Di Xingdao seethed with indignation.

After hearing him out, Wei Zhao showed no particular surprise. No matter how lofty one's level of strength, in the end none could escape the two words "self-interest."

"It's not really hard to understand. From where they stand, not one of them would want another vice island master to come out and contend with them for power, would they, Brother Tian?" Wei Zhao analyzed for him.

"Yes, it's not that I don't understand the logic—it's just that whenever I think of it, my heart still feels stuffed full!" Di Xingdao sighed. "If only that old fellow Zhang Lifeng were here. He's the honorary island master of Cloud Tier Island; one word from him and even the island master would have to weigh it carefully. It's just a pity he's always been a dragon that shows its head but never its tail—finding him is easier said than done."

"Never mind. The way I see it, little brother, they're probably using this to sound out your bottom line, Brother Tian—to find out just how much strength you've recovered. Once they've seen it clearly, I fear they'll turn on you even more ruthlessly." Wei Zhao shook his head.

He did not know exactly what strength Di Xingdao now possessed, but one thing was certain: Di Xingdao's power must still be far from his peak—otherwise he would never have met with such treatment.

In the end, strength determined who had the final say. To make those people nod, relying on personal ties would surely get nowhere; the only proper course was to swiftly recover his formidable power.

"To be frank with you, brother, my strength has now recovered to the peak of the late Golden Core stage, the great perfection—just one final step from restoring my Nascent Soul. But it's precisely that last step, ah..." Di Xingdao sighed helplessly.

Given his combat prowess, the great perfection of the Golden Core realm was by no means weak, but to restore his status as vice island master of Central Island on that alone was a fool's dream.

The crux was that strength was not something he could restore at will, the moment he wished it. Below the Nascent Soul stage it was another matter—with Di Xingdao's attainments, such things came easily—but the Nascent Soul stage was close to his peak state, and to bridge that gap in a single bound within a short time was a good deal harder. R1152