Chapter 4466 — Convincingly Beaten

If even Qi Mingyuan reacted like that, the rest of the crowd needed no explaining. Every last one of them stood with jaws hanging open, staring blankly at Qi Wenmo, trading looks of utter disbelief and not a word to say.

Zhao Shanying of the Xuanying Escort Agency, in particular, wore the face of a man who had seen a ghost. He looked at his two Gold Core consummate experts lying on the ground, their lives hanging in the balance, then looked at Qi Wenmo, whom they had traded their lives to take down, and there was not the slightest sign of injury on him. If that was not seeing a ghost, what in the world was?

"Wenhan, are you really all right?" Only then did Qi Mingyuan manage to get out a complete sentence, and he began checking Qi Wenmo up and down with anxious care. What he found left him stunned—there truly was not a scratch on him!

"Don't worry, Dad. I'm really fine." Qi Wenmo stretched his arms and legs. He moved freely, without the faintest sign of injury.

The entire hall was struck dumb. When they looked at Qi Wenmo again, it was as though they were looking at some kind of monster, and their faces held nothing but shock upon shock.

The Xuanying Escort Agency's Gold Core consummate experts were formidable by any measure; among cultivators of the same level, they could hardly be called weak. Yet Qi Wenmo had taken the full force of two men's killing strikes head-on—and the Vulture had even seized the chance to rake him with two claws—and all he had done was rest a moment after being knocked off the arena. He was perfectly fine.

By contrast, the two men from the Xuanying Escort Agency now lay there with their lives uncertain, clearly nearing their last breath. With so stark a contrast, anyone could see that although all of them were Gold Core consummate experts, the gulf in strength between them was anything but small.

Some could not help but wonder: if this had not been an arena duel but some other occasion, Qi Wenmo in this condition could have stepped right back into the fight. Who then could have stood in his way?

Seen in that light, this young master of the Qingtian Escort Agency was simply an invincible presence within the Gold Core stage!

What none of them knew was that Qi Wenmo, whom the whole hall had just mythologized, was himself utterly baffled. He could only guess that it was Wei Zhao's doing, and so he had tacitly played along with the act.

"Qi Wenmo is this strong? Has he been hiding his true ability all along?" Long Kuiba frowned deeply at the sight. Given the bad blood between the Longzhou Escort Agency and the Qingtian Escort Agency, he had dealt with Qi Wenmo often enough, and he had always known the young man was no weakling. But never had he imagined he could be strong to this degree!

"Indeed, and that could be a problem. If, when the agency leaders' challenge comes later, this fellow takes the field first on the Qingtian Escort Agency's behalf, what then? What do you make of it, Strategist?" Cheng Haonan was worried too. His target had been Wei Zhao from first to last, and he had not counted on this sudden interloper charging onto the scene. He might well ruin things halfway through, and that would be trouble indeed.

"Hmph. There is nothing to worry about." Wu Baoliang gave a cold, sharp laugh. "I watched his martial techniques closely just now. Their power is only so-so. He failed twice in a row to kill an opponent of his own level outright—so just how strong can he be?"

"The Strategist has a point." Cheng Haonan and Long Kuiba nodded again and again. Because Wei Zhao had not taken the field himself, the two of them had not observed so carefully; hearing Wu Baoliang's analysis, they were at once reassured. The minimum requirement for being invincible at one's level was the ability to kill an opponent of the same level in a single strike. Qi Wenmo could not even manage that, so his strength was clearly nothing much.

"More than that, those two escorts from the Xuanying Escort Agency were clearly holding something back for defense just now. They did not strike with full force, and that is the only reason that brat Qi Wenmo escaped with his life. Otherwise, with his meager strength, if two Gold Core consummate experts had truly hit him with everything they had, do you really think he would have survived?" Wu Baoliang's cold laughter did not cease.

"Quite right, quite right. We were both too close to the matter to see clearly; the Strategist alone saw through it. The boy truly is nothing to worry about. The two of us were fretting over nothing—hahahaha!" Cheng Haonan and Long Kuiba exchanged glances and burst out laughing.

Even as the three of them talked, the situation on the arena had already become perfectly clear. Having successfully traded himself for two opponents, Qi Wenmo left a three-against-two fight, and the Qingtian Escort Agency's advantage was plain for all to see.

Under such circumstances, even without Wei Zhao directing operations from the sidelines, the three Qitian escorts on the field were already standing on undefeatable ground. They were all seasoned hands within the agency; they might not be able to erupt in sudden bursts of power like Qi Wenmo, but at the very least holding their ground posed no problem for them.

In the end, only one man remained on the arena—the sole surviving expert at the peak of the late Gold Core stage—and he did not disappoint, carrying the Qingtian Escort Agency through to the final laugh!

Faced with that outcome, the whole hall was silent for a long moment. This arena battle had claimed no lives on the spot, but a full nine contestants were out, and apart from Qi Wenmo every one of them was gravely wounded. The ferocity of the contest needed no further illustration.

In this duel the Xuanying Escort Agency had sent five Gold Core consummate experts into the field, and the strength they displayed could hardly be called unimpressive—yet in the end they had lost. A narrow loss is still a loss. The crowd might feel some regret for them, but the points would not be discounted.

The whole of the Qingtian Escort Agency erupted in celebration, gathering Qi Wenmo and Wei Zhao—the two men whose contributions were greatest—into their midst, cheering and leaping about, unable to contain their excitement.

At that moment, Zhao Shanying, the chief escort of the Xuanying Escort Agency across the arena, walked slowly through the crowd and up before them, under the eyes of all present.

The hall fell silent at once. Everyone watched Zhao Shanying with wary faces. This was a man who had rebuilt the Xuanying Escort Agency through his own efforts alone—an out-and-out overlord, who had come back breathing vengeance, only to be trampled into the dirt by the Qingtian Escort Agency. Faced with so crushing a blow, who knew whether the fellow might do something extreme?

"You are Ling Yi?" Zhao Shanying came up close and looked Wei Zhao up and down, studying him carefully.

"That's right. What can I do for you, sir?" Wei Zhao's expression was calm as he in turn sized the other man up.

"I would not presume. Today I have finally come to understand one thing: that the Qingtian Escort Agency's rise to prominence was indeed never a matter of luck, but of real, solid strength." In front of everyone, Zhao Shanying bowed his head to Wei Zhao and the others. "In today's battle, I am convinced. You are truly stronger than my Xuanying Escort Agency!"

At those words, the hall erupted in discussion! (To be continued) R752