Chapter 4208 — The Doubles Challenge

If one performed well in the doubles, then even a complete blank in the singles might still leave one on the final list—indeed, quite likely on the list. After all, those disciples who had scored points in the singles could well end up with nothing in the second round and be eliminated outright. It was hardly impossible.

In short, before the doubles officially began, any talk of the final outcome was premature. Only once every match was done would the dust finally settle.

After Xu Yuanzheng made his announcement, the disciples dispersed to rest and regroup. Wei Zhao took Huang Xiaotao back to his own cave dwelling, seizing the three days to keep honing the Frenzied Fire Eight Trigrams Combined Palm—after all, it was the only combined-attack trump card they could rely on. Beyond that, they would have to fight on their own, which would leave them in a very passive position against strong opponents.

Wei Zhao had a premonition that in the doubles to come, he and Huang Xiaotao were highly likely to run into Xu Lingchong and Meng Zhou. Given the aggressive posture of those two, if they did not hurry and perfect the Frenzied Fire Eight Trigrams Combined Palm, it would be hard to say who would come out on top.

What left Wei Zhao not knowing whether to laugh or cry, however, was that Shangguan Lan'er insisted on tagging along to join the fun, spending all three days with Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao. This girl, after all, had never shown the slightest interest in martial cultivation—this time, for once, she was acting completely out of character.

As for what exactly was on her mind, probably only Shangguan Lan'er herself knew.

The three days flew by in a blink, and all the competing disciples gathered once more at the North Island arena. The much-anticipated doubles of the inner sect tournament was officially underway.

The first pair drawn to take the stage were familiar faces from a brief encounter before: Yu Dayong, who had conceded directly to Wei Zhao in the first round of the singles. He was an early Golden Core cultivator, and though his partner was somewhat stronger, the margin was limited—only peak early Golden Core.

On paper, such a pairing could hardly be called strong, and neither had fared well in the earlier singles, both scoring nothing. In the eyes of everyone below the stage, this pair was naturally written off as mere cannon fodder with no chance of victory.

The final result, however, left jaws dropping: against a pair of peak early Golden Core experts, the two of them actually overcame the stronger side and had the last laugh.

"Those two work together quite well. Especially this Yu Dayong—I'd assumed he'd be the weak link the other side exploited, but instead he turned their scheme against them and became the turning point that decided the match. He's no simple character," Wei Zhao remarked.

One voluntary concession, one counter-scheme. To others, Yu Dayong's showing might seem far less dazzling than those prodigy newcomers, but Wei Zhao quietly filed the man's name away in his mind.

This man was no ordinary sort. Given sufficient opportunity in the days to come, a late bloomer he might yet prove to be. As fellow inner sect brothers of the Azure Cloud Pavilion hereafter, there might well be occasion to cross paths again.

And just as Wei Zhao nodded to himself, the next pair to take the stage set the entire crowd abuzz—even Wei Zhao could not help but twitch at the sight.

One of the pair was Yu Jiang. Though he had been a much-discussed figure in the singles, he had, after all, been felled by a single move from Wei Zhao; on his own he would hardly have caused a sensation. The key was his teammate—none other than Nan Tianxiong!

Watching the pair step onto the stage, everyone, shocked as they were, could not help roaring inwardly: what kind of world was this, for heaven's sake?

These two sworn enemies, who just days ago had been trampling each other to the death with relish, had in the blink of an eye become partners. Was this supposed to defy the heavens themselves?

Amid the cries of astonishment, Yu Jiang and Nan Tianxiong had already joined forces in battle on the stage. Two early Golden Core experts facing another pair of peak early Golden Core experts—normally they would have had little hope of winning, yet the final result was a wholly one-sided rout.

Yu Jiang and Nan Tianxiong, relying on a coordination that was hardly seamless, nevertheless crushed their opponents outright and strode proudly into the top fifty.

In this, Nan Tianxiong's performance was unremarkable—as a seasoned veteran of the early Golden Core stage, he did not fall too far behind against a peak early Golden Core opponent. The key was Yu Jiang: this fellow's skills in that moment simply overpowered his opposite number, a peak early Golden Core expert, across the grade barrier. With that, the two-on-one situation formed, and the outcome was settled once and for all.

"What in the world is going on with those two?" Below the stage, Wei Zhao was as dumbfounded as everyone else. That these two mortal enemies could advance hand in hand truly dazzled the eyes.

Never mind that Nan Tianxiong still brooded over the death of his third brother, Nan Tianyong—he could never forgive Yu Jiang, and his hatred for Yu Jiang far exceeded that for Wei Zhao. Even Yu Jiang himself, bearing the grudge of having nearly been carved to pieces and sacrificed alive that day, could never forgive Nan Tianxiong, could he?

Little did anyone know that the key figure enabling these two to join hands today was, in fact, Xu Lingchong.

Three days earlier, after the singles had concluded entirely, Nan Tianxiong and Nan Tianguan, faced with Yu Jiang's abrupt and formidable return, knew their position was precarious. They had no choice but to bring up old matters and go to Xu Lingchong to pledge allegiance.

The two had long since followed Si Haitao and become peripheral members of the Center, and having had prior dealings with Xu Lingchong, their strength was passable enough. Xu Lingchong naturally did not turn them away, and at once revealed his true identity to them. Upon learning it, the two wasted no time in swearing loyalty.

Powerful, with deep backing, and moreover the direct superior of the Center—if Nan Tianxiong and Nan Tianguan still did not know to cling to such a powerful patron posthaste, that would only prove them beyond saving. They were no fools.

Yet what Nan Tianxiong and Nan Tianguan could never have anticipated was that just as they were swearing loyalty to Xu Lingchong, Yu Jiang arrived as well!

Their first reaction was to assume Yu Jiang had come to make trouble, and they flew into a rage at once. Even as they did, they stole glances at Xu Lingchong, hoping to borrow the prestige of this young master Xu to properly settle the score from the day before. What they never expected was that the thick leg they had just latched onto would be the first to speak to Yu Jiang.

"You've come. The mysterious one already told me about you. From now on, you'll work under me." Xu Lingchong nodded toward Yu Jiang. (To be continued..) R527