Chapter 4169 — Probably No Chance Now

Strictly speaking, he had not been in the Chongtian Pavilion long, and his seniority was still shallow. It was precisely because of those dazzling battle records that people had crowned him with the name of genius, and that a top-tier magnate like Shangguan Tianxia had taken notice of him. All of this was the capital he prided himself on.

At these words, the crowd indeed showed expressions of shock. Everyone present—whether Si Haitao, an outsider, or Kang Jingming, Murong Zhen, Zhong Yongliang and the others—was no old-timer of the Sandie Pavilion, so naturally none of them knew of these bygone matters. Only the two brothers, Nan Tianxiong and Nan Tianguan, had some knowledge of it.

Shocked as he was, however, Zhong Yongliang remained unimpressed at heart. Looking at Su Zhaohe's puffed-up air, one would think that Leader Wei Zhao simply could not compare with him at all—little did he know that this was nothing but self-deception.

So what if Su Zhaohe really had taken on a formidable early Golden Core expert? That must have been after he joined the Chongtian Pavilion, surely. And Leader Wei Zhao is still nothing but a novice who has not even been confirmed in his post—how could the two compare?

If his strength had truly been so astonishingly great back in his days at the Welcome Pavilion that he could challenge an early Golden Core expert head-on, then Shangguan Tianxia would likely have scrambled long ago to take him in as a disciple. Why would he have waited until now?

"And there is something else you do not know, hahahaha! As it happens, I have just succeeded in forming my Golden Core during this period—I am now a formidable early Golden Core expert!" Su Zhaohe laughed smugly. "I have kept my strength hidden and never made it public, all because I wanted to find an opportunity for a formal debut, to astonish the world in a single stroke and be accepted under Pavilion Master Shangguan's wing!"

"Excellent! Then this time the outcome is truly settled—we were worrying over nothing!" Si Haitao and the others were instantly invigorated, while Zhong Yongliang's expression changed, and he thought to himself that things looked bad.

In everyone's eyes, if Su Zhaohe were merely at the great perfection of Foundation Establishment, then given Wei Zhao's uncanny nature, there might still be a chance of the boat capsizing in the gutter. But Su Zhaohe was now a formidable early Golden Core expert—no matter how heaven-defying Wei Zhao might be, he could never be his match!

Who was Su Zhaohe? He was a genius disciple who had caught Shangguan Tianxia's eye and could challenge opponents above his level. How could such an early Golden Core expert be comparable to ordinary experts of the same tier?

Haha, this time Wei Zhao has truly kicked an iron plate. He has delivered himself to be another man's stepping stone to apprenticeship—when a man insists on courting death, no one can stop him!

Si Haitao and his group dispersed, each well pleased. Elsewhere, Shangguan Lan'er came out of Hualan Residence with a gloomy face and made her way to the Welcome Pavilion.

"Little Junior Brother, no matter how I begged, Grandfather simply refused to call off this unfair duel. He kept saying rules are rules—he is utterly unreasonable!" Shangguan Lan'er pouted as she complained to Wei Zhao.

"It is fine. I wanted to fight Su Zhaohe anyway. Pavilion Master Shangguan not interfering is actually a good thing." Wei Zhao smiled in consolation.

He could more or less guess what was on Shangguan Tianxia's mind. As the master of the Chongtian Pavilion, any rule was mere formality to him—a single word could change it. But if he were to step in this time, he would not be helping him, but harming him.

In Shangguan Tianxia's estimation, since he had dared to accept the challenge in public, that showed he had at least some confidence. If he intervened without a word, it would only make others think he had lost his momentum, that he was a coward who could only run his mouth—greatly disadvantageous to his future prospects in the Sandie Pavilion.

Besides, since Wei Zhao had killed Su Zhaohu back then, Su Zhaohe was a roadblock he would have to get past sooner or later. Running away could never solve the problem; only crushing straight through was the true way.

"Some good thing! I heard people say that Su Zhaohe, for all his day-in, day-out swaggering and swindling out there, spreading nonsense about Grandfather wanting to take him as a disciple, does have quite a bit of real strength. Little Junior Brother, you are only a novice of the Welcome Pavilion, and he has the nerve to force you into a duel—it is simply unfair!" Shangguan Lan'er fumed.

"Fair or unfair does not matter. Status does not represent strength. Perhaps when the fight is over, you will find this duel was even more unfair to him?" Wei Zhao smiled meaningfully, then asked, "You say this matter of Pavilion Master Shangguan taking him as a disciple is all Su Zhaohe's own fabrication—does he have that much nerve?"

"I do not know. I asked about it just now too, but Grandfather played with words and kept me guessing again..." Shangguan Lan'er wrinkled her nose helplessly. "Anyway, that Su Zhaohe is so odious—I do not want him as Grandfather's disciple at all. If I had to see his face every day from now on, I would die of misery!"

"Rest easy. I expect you will have little chance of seeing him after this. This trouble, I will take care of for you." Wei Zhao smiled faintly.

"Really? If you are that confident you can beat him, Little Junior Brother, then I will stop pestering Grandfather." Shangguan Lan'er's eyes lit up. She thought to herself that this little junior brother of hers had always been full of surprises, always able to accomplish things others would not even dare to imagine—perhaps this time would be no exception.

As long as Wei Zhao could defeat Su Zhaohe in this duel, then Su Zhaohe, that self-styled genius of the millennium, would never again have the face to seek apprenticeship under Grandfather! Clearly, Shangguan Lan'er had misunderstood Wei Zhao's meaning.

"Yes. Just wait and see, Little Senior Sister." Wei Zhao nodded, but within his smiling eyes lurked a trace of icy killing intent. What he intended was not to defeat Su Zhaohe, but to cut the weeds and pull the roots—to do away with Su Zhaohe outright!

Su Zhaohe appeared dignified and virtuous, but in truth he was a piece of human filth who deserved death. That much could have been judged from Huang Xiaotao's experience even before they ever met. It was only that at the time he and Wei Zhao had no dealings whatsoever, nor any deep enmity between them, so Wei Zhao had not had the leisure to scheme and target him specifically.

But now Wei Zhao had killed Su Zhaohu, and the man had come knocking on his door of his own accord. There was no reason to let him off. Having finally found a legitimate chance to cut down a piece of filth, how could Wei Zhao let it slip by?

……………………

Having taken a reassuring pill from Su Zhaohe, in the eyes of Si Haitao and the others Wei Zhao was now a dead man, with less than five days left to live. After Kang Jingming, Murong Zhen and Zhong Yongliang returned to the Welcome Pavilion, they could not wait to summon Meng Zhou over. R1152