Chapter 4188 — He Refused!

It was only because Xu Lingchong and Wei Zhao both had their attention fixed on each other. Had either of them shifted their target, these ordinary new disciples would likely have been crushed outright by the sheer force of their aura.

One glance from them, and you would be flat on the ground of your own accord. They were all new disciples alike—and this was the gap between everyone else and Wei Zhao!

As the two sides faced off, for a moment black clouds pressed down upon the city, and the entire Welcome Pavilion seemed to hold its breath before the coming storm. The celestial portents might have been mere coincidence, but at this moment everyone's heart felt a heavy, suffocating weight—especially the ordinary new disciples around them, who had the distinct sense of gods brawling while mortals paid the price.

Yet for all the tense confrontation of their auras, neither Xu Lingchong nor Wei Zhao showed any intention of striking. Wei Zhao, naturally, had no need to; and though Xu Lingchong would have been glad to kill Wei Zhao and be done with it, he had no justifiable cause. He could hardly attack Wei Zhao without reason—that would get him seized by the Law Enforcement Hall and publicly, severely punished.

"Wei Zhao, this young master hears you've been acting pretty cocky lately?" Xu Lingchong suddenly curled his lip in a cold sneer.

"Heh, Senior Brother Xu flatters me. I just live my life dutifully. It's only that certain people with no eyes keep delivering themselves to my door looking for a beating—so I can only oblige them." Wei Zhao responded mildly.

"Very good. Since you're already a skilled early-stage Golden Core cultivator—rare indeed for a new disciple, and worthy of praise!" Xu Lingchong acted as though he had not heard the mockery in Wei Zhao's words at all, and instead made an offer: "This young master has the authority to make an exception and accept you as a formal disciple of the Chongtian Pavilion. Are you willing?"

The moment the words left his mouth, an uproar swept through the crowd. The Chongtian Pavilion was unquestionably the strongest of the Three Tiered Pavilions; in both resources and status it stood far above the other two. Under normal circumstances, any disciple of the Xuanji Pavilion or the Qingyun Pavilion who had the chance to join the Chongtian Pavilion would count it a dream come true.

And Xu Lingchong, as the managing senior brother of the Chongtian Pavilion and the legitimate grandson of its Third Elder Xu Yuanzheng, truly held such power in his hands. Given a suitable pretext, it was not so difficult for him to bring someone into the Chongtian Pavilion.

"No." Wei Zhao's answer was terse and clear, and jaws dropped all around him.

"Huh?" Xu Lingchong was stunned. He had blurted out that offer on the spur of the moment, but his ultimate aim had always been to deal with Wei Zhao.

After all, given his present status, he was one of the Chongtian Pavilion's representative figures—it simply would not do for him to trade blows with Wei Zhao. And if he wanted to issue a formal challenge the way Su Zhaohe had, he had no legitimate grounds. He could hardly broadcast the matter of his self-castration to the world, could he?

But if he could get Wei Zhao into the Chongtian Pavilion, then as its managing senior brother he could do with him as he pleased—round him or flatten him at will. Wei Zhao would never again escape the palm of his hand.

He had never expected Wei Zhao to turn him down without a second thought. Had this fellow seen through his scheme?

"This is a rare opportunity. If you refuse now, you'll have sealed off this road yourself—you can forget about ever entering the Chongtian Pavilion again. Have you thought this through?" Xu Lingchong persisted, unwilling to give up.

"I'll just keep muddling along here. It suits me fine—no need for Senior Brother Xu to trouble himself." Wei Zhao was utterly impervious. He looked Xu Lingchong up and down, then said with a playful expression, "Senior Brother Xu, seeing that you're all right—that really is just wonderful. Though, well... hehehehehehe..."

To onlookers, Wei Zhao's burst of laughter was baffling, but Xu Lingchong knew exactly what it meant—the little bastard was laughing at him for having lost his family jewels!

"What are you laughing at!" Xu Lingchong's laughter was instantly rankled into a fury. "Laugh again and I swear this young master will finish you off right now!"

"Heh, you may control heaven and earth, but do you control whether I laugh or not? The managing senior brother of the Chongtian Pavilion doesn't have that much power, does he?" Wei Zhao said, watching him with sly amusement.

"Hmph, you've got nerve, Wei Zhao. You'd better watch yourself—don't ever let this young master catch you in something!" Xu Lingchong was grinding his teeth in rage, yet he could not lay a hand on Wei Zhao. He could only turn and depart with his retinue, his face dark as a storm cloud.

He truly had not imagined that this fellow Wei Zhao, faced with the present him, would show not the slightest fear. It seemed the boy was not as easy to handle as he had thought. He would have to plan this out carefully from now on!

Wei Zhao—and Shangguan Lan'er. Those two would have to pay.

Watching Xu Lingchong's departing back, Wei Zhao curled the corner of his mouth slightly. No good ever came of such visitors. Now that this one had returned, he would surely make trouble for him. He would have to stay on his guard in the days ahead.

For a time after that, Wei Zhao rarely left his dwelling, spending every day in seclusion cultivating. He had already faintly touched the barrier at the peak of the early Golden Core stage and had thought he would break through in one smooth stroke. Yet for some reason, it was as though he had hit a bottleneck—only that final small step remained, and he could never take it, and he could not tell where the problem lay.

Beyond that, one other thing surprised Wei Zhao considerably: Xu Lingchong had not come looking for trouble at all!

During this period, Xu Lingchong attended occasion after occasion, reverting to the glorious managing senior brother of the Chongtian Pavilion, his power and status gradually consolidating. Yet the one thing he did not do was go make trouble for Wei Zhao.

Stranger still, wherever Xu Lingchong went, he always brought Meng Zhou along. The two were inseparable, thick as thieves—so much so that even Kang Jingming grew jealous. He had always considered himself Xu Lingchong's number one lackey!

Now the trust and regard Meng Zhou enjoyed clearly far outstripped his own. And what vexed and bewildered him even more was that Xu Lingchong insisted they all address Meng Zhou as "Brother Meng"!

Meng Zhou was to be treated exactly as they treated the great Young Master Xu—attended with the utmost respect front and back. Damn it, it was like acknowledging another ancestor!

What kind of honeyed potion had this Meng Zhou fed the great Young Master Xu to make him treat him so well? This was good to the point of excess!

Moreover, the inseparable intimacy between the two, in Kang Jingming's eyes, did not look like ordinary friends or a simple superior-subordinate relationship at all. It gave one the impression of a pair of deeply devoted lovers!

Lovers? The instant that bizarre thought surfaced, it gave Kang Jingming a fright. The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed—yet he dared not ask, and could only keep serving on in cold-blooded dread.

This bewilderment was not Kang Jingming's alone; others close to Xu Lingchong shared it. Two grown men suddenly becoming so intimate—their relationship had plainly gone beyond friendship. It was impossible not to grow suspicious. (To be continued) R655