Chapter 4501 — The Evil Cultivator's Master

"Absolutely not!" Long Kuiba immediately perked up, his eyes glinting as he rubbed his hands together. "If he were just an ordinary nominal disciple, it might not matter much—but since Wu Baoliang even had his cultivation arts passed down personally by his master, that makes him a personal disciple, no different from a blood son. There's no way his master won't fly into a rage once he learns of this."

"Heh heh, exactly." Cheng Haonan nodded. He would fly into a rage if his son Cheng Qitian died—and now that Wu Baoliang was dead, his master would feel the same.

"So then, Deputy Escort Cheng, you intend to seek out this master of Wu Baoliang's?" Long Kuiba asked.

"Wrong—not *intend* to. I've already done it!" Cheng Haonan said with a smug laugh.

"What? That fast? Then Ling Yi is as good as dead!" Long Kuiba was overjoyed—and at the same time stunned by Cheng Haonan's efficiency. Barely a few hours had passed since they were being hunted, and already the man had contacted Wu Baoliang's master. It showed just how desperate he was for revenge.

"Naturally. This master of Wu Baoliang's is a true archfiend—a transcendent figure whose reputation for savagery stands out even among evil cultivators! Don't let Wu Baoliang's strength fool you; before his master, that little bit of power counts for nothing at all. Even a Xuan Sheng stage expert would only meet death against him. As long as he deigns to act, a hundred Ling Yis would all die without question. Heh heh heh heh…" Cheng Haonan nodded with absolute certainty, baring his teeth in a sinister grin.

The reason he had risked staying in this Demon Cold City was precisely to wait for Wu Baoliang's master to arrive. Once he had that thick, sturdy leg to cling to, he would be free to do as he pleased—and take his revenge with his own hands.

"Not even a Xuan Sheng stage expert can stand against him? Then that's wonderful!" Long Kuiba was instantly overjoyed.

Chaotic as the South Continent sea region was, it was still not the core territory of Yunjie Island. For all that strongmen ran amok here, those who could truly be counted as top-tier experts were few and far between. A single Xuan Sheng stage expert could already swagger about as he pleased—let alone an existence that even such an expert could not oppose.

Long Kuiba had initially worried that Wu Baoliang's master might not be up to the task. After all, the man was, at bottom, an evil cultivator; without sufficiently terrifying power, once he was surrounded and attacked, death would be his only end. But now that Cheng Haonan had told him this, there was nothing left to worry about.

"Hai Wuliang is a despicable, shameless wretch—the chief culprit who brought ruin upon us both. Shall we ask this exalted one to dispose of him as well while he's at it?" Long Kuiba asked next. If truth be told, he hated Hai Wuliang even more than Wei Zhao—Wei Zhao had only killed Wu Baoliang, but Hai Wuliang had single-handedly brought down his entire Longzhou Escort Agency.

"Best not. Hai Wuliang is our own grudge to settle. Trying to tie him to Wu Baoliang's death would be a bit too far-fetched, and Wu Baoliang's master may not even listen to us." Cheng Haonan shook his head, a note of caution in his voice. "If this exalted one gets the idea that we're using him, that would only make things worse."

"Mm, that's true enough. In any case, with an exalted one backing us, I doubt Hai Wuliang would dare move against us—there'll be plenty of chances to deal with him later." Long Kuiba nodded, somewhat regretfully, but he did not dwell on it. Instead he asked, "So when will this exalted one arrive?"

"It should be soon. If I'm not mistaken, he'll be here tomorrow!" Cheng Haonan said with a smug laugh.

"So soon? Could this exalted one be somewhere in the South Continent sea region?" Long Kuiba was startled again, fixing Cheng Haonan with a burning gaze. He had already given up any hope for tomorrow's South Continent Escort Alliance Assembly—but if the man was truly arriving tomorrow, that changed everything.

If things dragged past tomorrow, then even if Ling Yi were killed later and their honor restored, his Longzhou Escort Agency would at least come away with no contracts at all. The vast majority of the South Continent sea region's contracts would be carved up tomorrow, and given the Longzhou Escort Agency's current awkward standing, following along to eat meat was out of the question—even a sip of broth was a fond delusion. They could only gnaw on the northwest wind.

But if Wu Baoliang's master arrived quickly enough to turn the tables before tomorrow's contracts were settled, then it was another story entirely.

"Not exactly. But according to Wu Baoliang, he's not far from the South Continent sea region. The reason I could contact him so quickly this time is that I used a special internal method. Back when Wu Baoliang came to me, he was afraid of being hunted by the San Die Pavilion, so he gave me advance word: if anything ever happened to him, I was to use this secret channel to notify his master. It was only meant as a precaution against a rainy day—but now it's come in handy just in time." Cheng Haonan explained.

"Good, wonderful!" Long Kuiba nodded again and again with delight, his former gloom and melancholy swept clean away as he rallied his spirits. "Damn it all—the root of this whole disaster lies with that Ling Yi. If not for him, we'd never have gone out of our way to ask Hai Wuliang for help, and we'd never have given anyone a handle to grab. Now at last we can have our revenge."

"Indeed. That brat must die—if I don't carve him up with my own hands tomorrow, may I, Cheng Haonan, never be called a man again!" Cheng Haonan gnashed his teeth in hatred.

In truth, if it had not been a dueling-stage match that day, he would have been hugely confident of killing Wei Zhao. It was only that Wei Zhao fell from the stage and denied him the chance. Otherwise, had he been free to hunt the man down regardless of the rules, Wei Zhao would long since have been a cold corpse.

But that regret could be made up for once Wu Baoliang's master arrived tomorrow.

"Haha, that brat is already a dead man walking. To tomorrow's revenge—let's drink to it!" Long Kuiba laughed triumphantly.

"Well said. Cheers!" Cheng Haonan laughed heartily as well.

While these two celebrated in advance, the object of their loathing—the thorn in their side and flesh, the man marked down as a must-kill target—Wei Zhao was at that very moment in his own room, focusing his mind on a breakthrough.

In fact, during the day he had already vaguely touched upon the barrier to the next level. Though he had not been stuck at the mid Golden Core stage for long, he was, after all, an expert who had broken through to the Golden Core stage perfectly, and his breakthroughs were far less arduous than those of ordinary Golden Core experts. Basically, so long as his state of mind was there, the breakthrough would come as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

And after three consecutive bouts with Wu Baoliang, followed by a hard-fought clash with the even more powerful Cheng Haonan, Wei Zhao had clearly entered into that indescribable state of mind. (To be continued.)