Chapter 4210 — The Outcome Is Already Decided?

Facing the jeers of the entire crowd, Huang Xiaotao, who had already been rather nervous, could not help but clench her fists. Yet Wei Zhao, standing beside her, still wore an expression of calm composure—and even began to laugh as though nothing were the matter, leaving everyone in the arena baffled.

"What are you laughing at?" Xu Lingchong and Meng Zhou exchanged a glance, then Xu Lingchong put on a look of sudden enlightenment and said, "Oh, so this is what they call covering up one's embarrassment! Turns out the face of our so-called rookie king isn't as thick as we imagined after all! Hahaha!"

"Heh, you two had best not read too much into things—especially you, 'Chongchong.' That's quite the pet name you two have for each other, isn't it? The reason I didn't fight you in the singles final was simply that I was going easy on you, too lazy to bother. I never thought you'd actually take it seriously..." Wei Zhao curled his lip in a half-smile.

"Hah! You've truly reached a whole new level of shamelessness. With your paltry early Golden Core cultivation, you dare claim you went easy on me, a mid Golden Core? Do you even believe that yourself?" Xu Lingchong sneered without pause.

The crowd below echoed with mockery as well. Whether judged by nominal strength or by their actual performances in the earlier singles matches, Xu Lingchong was at least a full tier above Wei Zhao—who was stronger and who weaker was plain for all to see. To claim that one had gone easy on an opponent simply because one could not win was a childish way of saving face.

"I do believe it. You don't believe it now, but you will soon enough." Wei Zhao shrugged with an easy manner, then turned his head and exchanged a smile with Huang Xiaotao.

Seeing him like this, the once-tense Huang Xiaotao somehow felt herself relax all at once. It was as though the overbearing pressure that had radiated from Xu Lingchong and Meng Zhou had vanished into thin air in an instant. In that moment, there was only Wei Zhao in her eyes.

"Deluding yourself—this young master will snap you out of it right now!" Xu Lingchong gave a cold snort. He immediately launched himself at Wei Zhao, striking first. Beside him, Meng Zhou erupted into motion with perfect, unspoken coordination—but his target was Huang Xiaotao.

Although this was a doubles match, given their strength, they needed no additional coordination whatsoever. One-on-one was more than enough to devour their opponents—after all, both Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao were nothing more than their defeated foes.

Meng Zhou came on with overwhelming force, still employing his customary Thousand Kicks against Huang Xiaotao. He had finished her off with exactly this in the singles match; this time was merely a repeat performance. As for Xu Lingchong, he now, for the first time, revealed his secret divine weapon: the Nine Heavens Venom Dragon Whip.

The whip measured one zhang and five chi in length, forged from the finest dark iron beyond the heavens, and divided into three hundred and sixty segments—each segment, pried out on its own, was a razor-sharp miniature dagger, glimmering with dots of venomous green. Its blood grooves were distinct and deep. No matter how powerful one might be, once the Nine Heavens Venom Dragon Whip opened a wound, even if you did not die, you would lose half your life.

Xu Lingchong was a flawless-breakthrough mid Golden Core expert. His strength already rivaled that of an ordinary late Golden Core, and with the Nine Heavens Venom Dragon Whip he was like a tiger with wings—so it was only natural that in this inner sect tournament, where experts of late Golden Core and above rarely showed themselves, he had been able to sweep all before him.

In truth, after his strength had surged, Xu Lingchong's self-confidence had grown mightier than ever before. Never mind crushing Wei Zhao one-on-one—even if Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao came at him together, he alone could easily overwhelm them. Having Meng Zhou join the attack as well was already showing Wei Zhao considerable respect.

The Nine Heavens Venom Dragon Whip let out a shrill, blood-curdling shriek, conjuring a sky full of whip shadows that descended upon Wei Zhao's head in an instant. Below, a wave of sharp, collective gasps swept through the crowd.

At this moment Xu Lingchong was more serious than ever. The power of the Nine Heavens Venom Dragon Whip was visibly a notch above even his first-round singles match against a late Golden Core expert. Even the spectators below felt a chill crawl up their spines—if they were in Wei Zhao's position, they feared they would be finished in a single exchange.

Yet Wei Zhao seemed to have anticipated this. The Nine Heavens Venom Dragon Whip was fast, to be sure—but he was faster. More precisely, his reactions were faster. Even before Xu Lingchong made his move, he had already blinked away from his original position, rapidly closing in on Huang Xiaotao on the other side.

Was he planning to gang up on the outnumbered first—joining Huang Xiaotao to take out Meng Zhou early and create a two-on-one situation—and then turn to deal with the more troublesome Xu Lingchong?

Everyone present was an expert; they grasped Wei Zhao's intent in an instant. Xu Lingchong and Meng Zhou on the stage were naturally no exception.

"Hmph, a pretty thought—but playing such petty tricks right under this young master's nose? You're looking down on me far too much!" Xu Lingchong answered with a cold laugh.

At his words, the already myriad whip shadows of the Nine Heavens Venom Dragon Whip grew even more all-encompassing, chasing Wei Zhao's figure and sweeping after him all the way—and in that posture, it was clearly preparing to net both Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao in one fell swoop!

The situation on the stage turned extremely dangerous once more. Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao were now like prey beneath a venomous dragon's jaws, liable to be swallowed whole at any moment, leaving not even bones or ashes behind.

Meanwhile, to avoid being accidentally caught in the Nine Heavens Venom Dragon Whip's fury, Meng Zhou, who had been pressing the attack on Huang Xiaotao, had no choice but to step back voluntarily. Although he was Xu Lingchong's partner, this onslaught of the Nine Heavens Venom Dragon Whip was no joke—once swept into it, even Xu Lingchong would not be able to save him.

"The outcome is decided..." The crowd below all reached their verdict. Even the referee on the stage, an expert of the Nascent Soul stage, felt there was little suspense left. Unlike the crowd, he did not consider Wei Zhao weak at all—on the contrary, he quite admired the rookie king's past performances. Even so, he did not believe Wei Zhao could survive an onslaught of this magnitude.

Before absolute strength, no matter how great one's talent, potential, or intellect, all of it was mere floating clouds—it could not change the outcome in the slightest.

"Grandfather, quick, save Little Junior Brother and Senior Sister Xiaotao!" Shangguan Lan'er was so frantic in the stands that tears were about to fall. She tugged at Shangguan Tianxia's arm and urged him again and again.

Shangguan Tianxia furrowed his brow. Even he felt the situation was looking rather grim, yet he did not rush to act. Turning his head, he consoled her, "Don't panic, Little Lan'er. Wei Zhao should not be defeated so easily. Wait a little longer."

In his estimation, even if Wei Zhao ultimately lost, he would never lose so cleanly and abruptly—unless, as in the singles match, he conceded right from the start. Otherwise, by the nature of any strong practitioner, once battle was joined, none would admit defeat so lightly. Wei Zhao would naturally be no exception. (To be continued...)