Chapter 4666 — Invitation to Team Up

Good heavens! The crowd nearly lost their minds. That a woman would take the initiative to strike up a conversation had already been shocking enough, but never in their wildest dreams had they expected Wei Zhao to turn her down without so much as a second thought. What in the world had the world come to?

"Oh..." The woman could not help but look a little disappointed. She fixed her gaze on Wei Zhao for a few more seconds, but did not press the matter further—perhaps she too realized that accosting him out of the blue like this was far too baffling.

What left everyone exchanging bewildered glances, however, was that although the woman did not keep trying to team up with Wei Zhao, she did not leave after being rejected either. Instead, she simply fell in behind him as if it were the natural thing to do. No one quite knew what to make of it.

"Fair lady, this fellow is a blind fool who can't recognize gold inlaid with jade. Best pay him no mind. Why not consider me instead? My strength is hardly something a painted pillow like him can match—I guarantee you'll get exactly what you wish for. How about it?" Kang Jingming was still unwilling to give up and trailed after the woman, chattering without end.

The woman paid him no heed, however, and merely continued to wait silently behind Wei Zhao, lifting her head now and then to size him up, as though there were some deeper meaning in her gaze.

With a pair of eyes fixed on his back like that, Wei Zhao could not help feeling a little uneasy, and he quietly grew wary. Just what was this girl up to? Why did it feel as though she had set her sights on him for some ulterior purpose?

While the woman was studying Wei Zhao, Shangguan Lan'er and Han Jingyi were studying her as well, whispering to each other from time to time and breaking into silvery peals of laughter. Far from minding the woman's unexpected behavior, the two of them were simply brimming with curiosity.

As they spoke, the group had already filed up to the front of the teleportation formation. This was a side courtyard of the island master's palace, heavily guarded, with imposing West Island experts posted in every direction. Though all of them were female cultivators, the sheer overwhelming momentum they radiated was enough to deter anyone from causing trouble.

"Very well. Once your identities are verified, you may line up and teleport one by one. Good luck to you all." With that, Yan Xinlan stepped aside and left the rest to two West Island stewards—one to verify identities, the other to direct the teleportation.

At a time like this, no one dared to make trouble, and so no disturbance arose. The crowd teleported in orderly succession, and soon it was Wei Zhao's turn. Only after his identity was verified and he was about to step into the formation did he finally learn the identity of the veiled woman behind him.

Her name was Huo Yudie, a student from the Morning Pride Yellow-Rank Women's Academy of East Continent. Whether she was actually a disciple of that Vice Principal Liu Ziqi, however, he could not say. Since she had been permitted to accompany the mission to West Island, her status surely could not be low.

"Go for it, little junior brother! Feifei and the rest of us are all waiting for you!" Seeing Wei Zhao step into the teleportation formation, Shangguan Lan'er, who had been held back outside, waved frantically. But when she caught Wei Zhao's strange expression, she quickly realized the ambiguity in her own words, and her face flushed bright red on the spot. Ning Xuefei was waiting for Wei Zhao to become her husband—so what exactly was she waiting for?!

"Be careful, Brother Wei Zhao, and keep in touch with Jingjing at all times!" Han Jingyi added, making a phone-call gesture with her hand, which left everyone around them utterly baffled. The ruins of the ancient battlefield were completely sealed off from West Island proper, accessible only through the teleportation formation—so how on earth was he supposed to keep in touch at all times? Through a dream visitation?!

"Just wait for me to come back, all of you." Wei Zhao smiled and waved to the two girls, then turned and stepped into the teleportation formation.

After a brief look around, he found that the formation was not as large as he had imagined—a little smaller than the ones he had been through before. It could only send one person at a time. What was especially unusual was that, whereas the formations he had seen previously all drew their energy from the spiritual qi of spirit jade, this one required an infusion of true qi to operate. Each had its advantages and drawbacks, he supposed.

Facing the stone slab at the very center, Wei Zhao slowly channeled his true qi, and the teleportation formation came to life. Since the trial had only just begun, teleporting did not require much true qi at this stage; in mere moments the formation was fully activated, and Wei Zhao felt a blur before his eyes as the scene around him changed completely.

The ancient battlefield! Though he was still standing within the teleportation formation, Wei Zhao could already feel a terrifying aura rushing at his face—killing intent, malevolence, and ferocity all blended together. Under the oppression of such a dreadful aura, the weaker cultivators could scarcely catch their breath, let alone venture out to undergo the trial.

Sure enough, this was an arena built solely for the strong. The name "ancient battlefield" was indeed well deserved.

Stepping out of the formation, Wei Zhao took a quick look around. Apart from the omnipresent terrifying aura, there was not much to be gleaned from the place, for in terms of terrain it was a long, narrow canyon—apart from the cliffs on either side, all one could see was the strip of gray, hazy sky overhead.

The people who had teleported over earlier had not yet left, because two West Island female cultivators stood guard at the formation's exit. Judging by their aura, both were at the peak of Nascent Soul, clearly sent ahead in advance—and they seemed to have something to say.

A short while later, all the participants had finished teleporting. Once everyone had gathered in the canyon, one of the West Island female cultivators spoke: "We will wait here for you for one month. When you return, we will guide you in attacking the formation eye. As for everything else, you will have to fend for yourselves."

At those words, everyone understood at once: these two West Island female cultivators had been sent specifically to keep watch lest anyone start fighting at the entrance of the teleportation formation, and to maintain order among the crowd.

That was only reasonable. The key to the West Island trial lay in the teleportation formation; once it failed or was destroyed, there would be no way back into these ruins of the ancient battlefield. Anyone in their position would prioritize its protection. If some ill-intentioned person were to do such a thing—harming others without benefiting themselves—it would be an incalculable loss to West Island!

There was another consideration as well. Once the trial reached its later stages, if someone missed the teleportation window and ended up trapped here with no way out, there was no guaranteeing they would not entertain thoughts they ought not to have. They might well attack others out of a desire to drag someone down with them, and that would rob the trial of its meaning entirely. How would West Island answer to the other powers then?

After all, these were the elites of every island. If they died here because their skills were inferior, that would be one thing—but if they were dragged to their deaths for such a reason, there would be no justifying it under any circumstances, and West Island would inevitably become the target of universal condemnation.