Chapter 4607 — Mid-Stage Nascent Soul!

"Hmph. The old saying goes that even when you beat a dog, you spare a thought for its master. You dare lay hands on my men right in front of me—seems you're ready to have it out with me, is that it? I've seen my share of arrogant fools, but a blockhead this blind to everyone around him is a first for me!" Ma Dangfeng's face darkened further. Wei Zhao's little display was nothing remarkable in his eyes, but the fact that the man had dared to send his underling flying meant, as far as he was concerned, a declaration of open war.

"Heh, you flatter me. I'd say that appraisal is better kept for yourself." Wei Zhao shook his head faintly, utterly unbothered, his expression still as mild as a passing cloud. "The Rookie King, is it? Oh—hello there, Rookie King. But even if you are the Rookie King, there's no need to put on such airs, is there? Even I, whom people call the king of putting on airs, can only bow in admiration."

"Putting on airs?" Ma Dangfeng shot an involuntary glance at his underling, still howling beneath the crowd's trampling feet, and thought to himself, Who in the hell is putting on airs here? Truly worthy of the title king of putting on airs. He sneered. "I hear you were the Rookie King of the last intake?"

"Oh, that's ancient history. I haven't been Rookie King for many a year. Hearing it said aloud always gives me the feeling I'm pretending to be young—people will laugh." Wei Zhao smiled slightly, a flicker of amusement in his eyes.

The onlookers outside the door burst into a roar of laughter at this. Watching the sparks between the two sides grow thicker by the moment, any sane person could tell that the two generations of Rookie Kings were bound to fight today; some eager soul in the outer crowd had even opened a betting pool. Most believed Ma Dangfeng, the Nascent Soul Rookie King, had the better odds—but as for bearing and presence, Wei Zhao was plainly the superior of the two.

"You—" Amid the crowd's laughter, Ma Dangfeng could not shake the feeling of being played for a monkey. He knew he would gain no advantage trading barbs, and could only say in a fury of embarrassment, "Clever talk gets you nowhere—that's the resort of trash. You and I are both Rookie Kings, and since we've happened to meet today, do you dare accept my challenge?"

At that moment only one thought filled Ma Dangfeng's mind: strength alone is the king's road. Once he had this fellow ground beneath his heel, he would like to see whether the man could still smile!

"They call you a madman, and they're not wrong at all. I've got nothing better to do than accept your challenge? You bite at the sight of anyone—don't tell me you've got rabies. If you're sick, go get treated. Don't delay." Wei Zhao frowned slightly, then without another word abruptly released the full force of his aura. The mighty presence of a peak early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator instantly cowed everyone around him.

Wei Zhao had always made a habit of concealing his strength, but peak early-stage Nascent Soul was at most his strength on paper; there was no harm in others knowing it. He might as well lay it bare and overawe this posturing clown. After all, he had only just returned to the North Island and could not be bothered to waste effort on pointless conflict with a brat like Ma Dangfeng who did not know the height of the heavens. Better to scare him off and be done with it.

For Wei Zhao, gathering with this band of brothers was the real business at hand, and he also needed to find time to make a trip to the Rag King's side to see how the casting pool was faring now. Where would he find the leisure to trade nonsense with the likes of Ma Dangfeng...

For all Ma Dangfeng's bluster, in the eyes of ordinary folk he was a lofty, top-tier Rookie King—but in Wei Zhao's eyes he was at most a child. Wei Zhao had seen every kind of top-tier existence in the Southern Continent. Never mind the Mountain-Opening stage; he had witnessed the finest savage beasts above even the Earth-Rending and Sea-Splitting stages. Set against such colossi, what was a Rookie King of the Tri-Layer Pavilion but a wisp of lint?

Seeing Wei Zhao suddenly release his aura without the slightest reservation, the onlookers packed outside the door were stunned on the spot. Even Lu Bianren and the others standing beside him could scarcely believe it. They had always assumed Wei Zhao's strength was only at the Golden Core stage—which was why they had worried so over Ma Dangfeng making trouble—never imagining that after this short separation, Wei Zhao had already become a peak early-stage Nascent Soul expert!

The crowd had favored Ma Dangfeng for no other reason than that he was a Nascent Soul expert who held absolute strength over Wei Zhao, the Rookie King of the previous intake. Even knowing Wei Zhao could fight above his level, no one would believe a Golden Core cultivator could challenge a Nascent Soul one.

But now everything had changed. Wei Zhao was not merely the Golden Core cultivator they had assumed—he was peak early-stage Nascent Soul, and had instead ground Ma Dangfeng beneath his heel. It seemed this so-called top-tier Rookie King had truly kicked an iron plate. After all, Ma Dangfeng was only at the early Nascent Soul stage!

This scene turned not only the crowd's faces pale—even Ma Dangfeng himself was struck dumb. The lofty contempt that had filled his gaze when he looked at Wei Zhao vanished in an instant. The corners of his mouth curled in an inscrutable grimace. "Peak early-stage Nascent Soul? How impressive. Do you think that makes you invincible under heaven—that it's enough to scare me off?"

Hearing Ma Dangfeng's strange tone, everyone couldn't help but freeze. Was the fellow unable to stomach such a crushing gap in expectations, and now preparing to slap his own swollen face and play the fat man?

But when they saw Ma Dangfeng's next move, they finally understood—and could not help but show astonishment once more. By all accounts Ma Dangfeng, this top-tier Rookie King, had always been flamboyant; who would have thought the fellow had been hiding his strength all along? He had never been an early-stage Nascent Soul expert at all—he was mid-stage Nascent Soul!

The crowd's interest surged at once. Two generations of Rookie Kings facing off was already a spectacle full of gimmick—and now the situation had shifted like a plunging roller coaster. They had thought Wei Zhao's sudden reveal of peak early-stage Nascent Soul strength had settled the matter beyond doubt, never expecting that the new Rookie King, Ma Dangfeng, was actually stronger still!

This was a show worth watching today. At this rate, the two sides would surely come to blows next, and it would become the focus of the entire North Island. At last they would have no shortage of material for bragging and idle chatter.

"Hahahaha!" Ma Dangfeng laughed and laughed. The crowd's dazzled expressions gratified his vanity nicely, and his face returned to its initial condescension. He glanced sidelong at Wei Zhao. "Well? Didn't see that coming, did you?"

"Oh. And what of it?" Wei Zhao, from first to last, had not so much as twitched an eyelid. He still watched this Ma Dangfeng with a half-smile, his gaze brimming with mockery.

"What of it? Is your brain waterlogged?" Ma Dangfeng looked at Wei Zhao as though at an idiot. "I'm a mid-stage Nascent Soul expert. If you're sensible and kneel down and kowtow, then for the sake of our being fellow disciples, I can spare your life. But if you're not sensible—then don't blame me for showing no mercy..." (To be continued...)

...R640