Chapter 4166 — Reluctantly Granting Your Wish

Crossing the vast open sea meant staying constantly on guard against fierce birds of prey in the skies above, while also watching for sneak attacks from sea beasts below. On top of that, the journey was so long that ordinary flying spirit beasts simply could not sustain such a high-intensity long-distance flight—five or six out of ten would perish along the way.

For this reason, even the great majority of those who chose to ride flying spirit beasts did not dare cross the open sea directly. Instead they avoided the ocean and took the long way around by land, for only thus could they guarantee their safety. This time, however, Wei Zhao was riding a mount exclusive to the Heavenly Path Sect, and had no such worries at all.

Not only was the flying spirit beast itself fearsomely powerful—outrageously so—but the mere special insignia upon it, especially the five dazzling characters "Central Island Island Master's Pavilion," was enough to scare off ninety-nine out of a hundred cultivators and spirit beasts.

To strike at it would be tantamount to opposing the Central Island Island Master's Pavilion. Never mind cultivators—even the spirit beasts lacked the nerve. Their intelligence was not much lower than that of humans, and though the vast sea had never been conquered by mankind, they still knew well what the Central Island Island Master's Pavilion represented.

The whole way was smooth, without wind or wave, and after merely two days and nights, relying on the extraordinary speed of this Heavenly Path mount, Wei Zhao returned to the familiar region of North Island.

Watching the flying spirit beast depart of its own accord, Wei Zhao had barely returned to the Welcoming Pavilion and had not even had time to exchange a few words with his long-suffering senior brothers before he was thrust face-to-face with a major incident—Su Zhaohe had brought Niu Qiang to his door!

Word had it in the streets that Su Zhaohe's acceptance as a disciple by Shangguan Tianxia was already a settled matter, and so Su Zhaohe's standing in the North Island's Threefold Pavilion was now truly at its zenith. The moment he appeared, he drew a great crowd of new disciples from the Welcoming Pavilion.

"So you're Wei Zhao? You've played the shrinking turtle for so long, and at last you've deigned to come back. Perfect timing—I hereby challenge you to a duel before all these witnesses. Do you dare accept?" Su Zhaohe declared loudly, his face full of disdainful superiority.

Wei Zhao was still unaware that he was also a wanted man on North Island, and this sudden confrontation left him utterly baffled. He took in the man's broad, square face, which carried an air of authority all its own—he did seem to be somebody.

"And you are?" Wei Zhao could not help frowning as he asked offhandedly.

Aiya! The moment the words left Wei Zhao's mouth, the whole crowd erupted in an uproar. By a man's name one knows his reputation—who on North Island's Threefold Pavilion did not know Su Zhaohe? Did this fellow truly not know him, or was he pretending not to?

The new disciples of the Welcoming Pavilion exchanged bewildered glances. This fellow had vanished for so long without a trace, and now that he was finally back, was he up to his old habit of putting on airs again?

The crowd was merely enjoying the spectacle, but Su Zhaohe himself had gone red in the face. In recent days he had grown used to being the moon surrounded by stars—when had anyone ever belittled him to his face like this? And from a mere disciple of the Welcoming Pavilion, no less—someone he ordinarily would not even deign to look at.

"I am Su Zhaohe of the Sky-Rushing Pavilion," Su Zhaohe answered through gritted teeth, his expression stiff under the gaze of the crowd.

"Su Zhaohe?" Wei Zhao raised an eyebrow slightly. Why had this fellow suddenly come knocking? Then he added, "I don't believe I've ever met you. Why challenge me to a duel?"

"Hmph, you haven't met me, but my cousin Su Zhaohu—surely you've met him, Wei Zhao? Oh no, or perhaps I should call you Ling Yi?" Su Zhaohe sneered, fixing him with a glare.

At those words Wei Zhao understood at once, though he was also greatly astonished. When he had killed Su Zhaohu, he had indeed worn the appearance of the martial artist Ling Yi—but that had happened in a place as remote as Mount Wuwu of the Huctai Sky. How had it been exposed?

Of those present at the time, apart from the dead Su Zhaohu, Chen Muzhuang, and the others, only Huang Xiaotao and Cong Zhima remained. But Wei Zhao had always been a keen judge of character, and he trusted that those two would not betray him.

Could it be that mid-Foundation Establishment expert? Wei Zhao's eyelid twitched at once. That fellow had not seen the whole process, but thinking it over, it was highly likely he had supplied the lead!

It was just that Wei Zhao had no way of knowing who this person really was; he could only wait until they met again in the future for a chance to settle that old score.

"He brought it on himself. In a place like Mount Wuwu of the Huctai Sky, if you mean to rob a man, you had best be prepared to die for it," Wei Zhao replied indifferently.

The matter of his being the martial artist Ling Yi could be discovered with a single investigation on Central Island—there was no denying it, nor did he have any intention of trying.

"Brought it on himself? Hmph, from the look of you, you seem rather pleased with yourself. My cousin is dead now, and right or wrong, it's your word and your word alone—there's no way to verify any of it." Su Zhaohe stared at Wei Zhao coldly. "Since you speak to me of being prepared, then let me speak to you of being prepared as well. If you have the nerve to kill, you must have the nerve to die. Wouldn't you agree?"

"So you mean to kill me no matter what?" Wei Zhao said mildly.

He glanced around. By now the tense, sword-drawn atmosphere had drawn ever more onlookers, and Wei Zhao even caught sight of Shangguan Lan'er in the distance, hurrying this way as well.

"What? Are you afraid? Don't dare accept?" Su Zhaohe laughed contemptuously at the sight, sneering, "You're a disciple of the Welcoming Pavilion—it's fine if you refuse. All you lose is face, and you'll still keep your miserable dog's life. Good enough—it saves me from earning a reputation for bullying newcomers."

Before Wei Zhao could speak, the crowd around them had already begun to whisper and point. By fame and by strength the two were simply not on the same level, but Wei Zhao was also renowned in the Welcoming Pavilion as the king of newcomers. If he backed down to his face now, his reputation would be ruined entirely.

"Wei Zhao is finished now. Senior Brother Su Zhaohe is the strongest expert at the great perfection of Foundation Establishment—they say he can even hold his own against Golden Core cultivators..."

"Indeed, hehe, I hear Wei Zhao is a real show-off. Who knows whether he'll get carried away and go throw his life away..."

"..." The people nearby immediately fell into animated discussion.

Wei Zhao, however, had never cared about any of this. Squinting as he sized Su Zhaohe up, the corners of his mouth curved into a faint, amused arc. Heh—great perfection of Foundation Establishment?

With his current strength, if he truly wanted to do this swaggering Su Zhaohe in, it would be absolutely easy and enjoyable. The only thing to consider was how to clean up the aftermath once the man was dead.

"Very well. Since you insist so strongly, I shall reluctantly grant your wish," Wei Zhao said at once with a nod. After all, with so many witnesses present, it was the other man who had taken the initiative to challenge a newcomer like him—the fault was originally his opponent's. Even if he did him in, it should not be blamed on him. R1152