Chapter 4610 — Can't Make Sense of It

Yet one breath passed, then two, then three... one by one, the people who had thrown themselves flat on the ground raised their heads in puzzlement. How was there not the faintest stir?

Every eye was on Ma Dangfeng. This top-ranked new champion of the Nascent Soul stage—was he playing them all for fools?

And yet, looking at Ma Dangfeng now, not a trace remained of his earlier arrogance and confidence; instead he was drenched in cold sweat, terrified by this bizarre turn. How could there be no reaction at all...

"Blow! Blow! Blow!" Ma Dangfeng was on the verge of madness. All at once he began screaming hysterically, nearly frightening those present into nervous collapse—and the result was just as before: not the slightest stir.

Now look at Wei Zhao: the man sat there perfectly at ease, and at some point had even brewed a pot of spirit tea. He lounged there drinking it with a look of contentment, watching Ma Dangfeng all the while, his expression one of pure mockery, as though watching a monkey perform.

Behind him, Lu Bianren, Miserable Senior Brother, and the others exchanged glances, and the hearts that had been hanging in midair promptly settled. They might not know exactly what had happened, but at least they knew everything was firmly in Wei Zhao's grasp.

Ma Dangfeng was truly beside himself with rage now, his face drawn tight and purpling like a pig's liver, and yet there was still no reaction whatsoever. The Earth Dragon Emergence, which had never once failed him before, had this time, for some unknown reason, sunk like a stone into the sea without the slightest response—let alone controlling it at will, he could not even sense it anymore.

"Heh. Seems that Earth Dragon of yours isn't much good. Why not take a look at what my dragon can do?" Wei Zhao took a leisurely sip of his spirit tea, a sharp contrast to the hysterical Ma Dangfeng.

"You son of a—" Ma Dangfeng flew into a shameful rage and began to curse, but before the words were even out of his mouth, he suddenly felt an extremely sharp and terrifying killing intent surge up from beneath his feet, faintly accompanied by a soft dragon's cry. The next instant, before the entire crowd, Ma Dangfeng let out a miserable howl, his knees buckled, and he dropped straight down to his knees before Wei Zhao!

The crowd erupted in an uproar, every face disbelieving. What in the world was going on? Ma Dangfeng had clearly been the one baring his fangs and claws, and Wei Zhao had clearly just been sitting there drinking tea at his leisure—so how had Ma Dangfeng somehow ended up kneeling to him? And he even looked to be in agony?

"Come now, the fight hasn't even started. How are you already kowtowing and conceding? Wonders never cease—I really am at a loss!" Wei Zhao went on drinking his spirit tea in comfort, not even bothering to lift his eyelids.

"Impossible! This is impossible! Absolutely impossible! Aaah—!" Ma Dangfeng howled himself hoarse, cold sweat pouring down his twisted face as he stared at Wei Zhao. He could not bring himself to believe he had actually lost—and lost in a way he could not begin to comprehend!

Both hands clutched desperately at knees that had gone nearly numb with pain, and from between his fingers brilliant red blood gushed out uncontrollably, staining a great stretch of the floor red in mere moments. Together with Ma Dangfeng's hysterical howls of pain, the whole scene fell into an eerie silence.

Everyone stared, dumbstruck. Ma Dangfeng, this top-ranked new champion of the Nascent Soul stage, had always held himself high above all others, strutting about with his nose in the air no matter the occasion—and yet this wretched spectacle before them now drew from the crowd an involuntary twinge of sympathy.

To a man who thought so highly of himself as Ma Dangfeng, any trace of so-called sympathy was the deepest humiliation of all!

At any other time, had anyone dared to look at him that way, Ma Dangfeng would have flown into a rage and struck out. But now he could not—he could not even stand, only kneel there before Wei Zhao in utter degradation. His dignity and confidence shattered in an instant along with his howls. What was left with which to teach these people a lesson?

Fear—deep fear was all that remained in Ma Dangfeng's heart now!

His mind had gone blank. He could not understand what had just happened, still less how he could have lost to a mere peak early-stage Nascent Soul expert—and by such a bizarre, uncanny means! He could not even believe what he was experiencing at this very moment, wondering whether this was all a dream.

He was a mid-stage Nascent Soul expert, he was the top-ranked new champion, an invincible presence who had swept all before him at the Threefold Pavilion's inner-sect tournament, a legendary figure who had overturned everyone's expectations and was destined for the annals of the Threefold Pavilion. How could he possibly lose a challenge match in such a humiliating, bizarre fashion? It was absolutely impossible!

Ma Dangfeng was still deceiving himself, but the onlookers around him were not about to join in his folly. Though none of them could make sense of what had happened, they could at least see one thing clearly: this clash between two generations of new champions had already been decided.

In a single move, Ma Dangfeng, the new top-ranked new champion, had been cleanly defeated—and so miserably that one could hardly bear to look.

For a time, every gaze turned on Wei Zhao carried incomparable awe. In the eyes of these people, a peak early-stage Nascent Soul expert was already a lofty and formidable existence, and Wei Zhao, a legendary figure besides, demanded even greater reverence—not a hint of disrespect dared be shown.

Before this, everyone had assumed Ma Dangfeng would become the new legend of the North Island's Threefold Pavilion. But now, not even the dullest fool would think so. A legend was a legend after all; before a true legend like Wei Zhao, Ma Dangfeng could only be a passing cloud in the background.

The scene stayed hushed for a full half-incense stick's worth of time. Wei Zhao drank his spirit tea just as leisurely, Ma Dangfeng knelt hoarse-throated before him, and everyone around held their breath and watched in silence, the occasional sharp intake of air to be heard—not only from shock, but because Ma Dangfeng's howls and contorted face made onlookers ache for him too...

Everyone wondered what had just happened, but alas, with their strength it would forever be beyond them to see. A method like the Five Elements Killing Qi—unless one were at the level of Shangguan Tianxia, no ordinary person could even imagine its dreadfulness and terror, could not even see it.

With Wei Zhao's present strength, a full-force strike of the Five Elements Killing Qi could instantly slay an expert of the Mystic Ascension stage; as for dealing with Ma Dangfeng, a mid-stage Nascent Soul, it was sheer overkill—a tenth of his power was more than enough. Before the Five Elements Killing Qi, this so-called Earth Dragon was nothing but nonsense. (To be continued...)

...R640