Chapter 4737 — Not a Good Feeling

"Wei Zhao himself," Ning Shanghe said with a faint smile.

"Wei Zhao?" Ning Shanghe was immediately taken aback, and could not help but show her astonishment. "Is this true? How did he provoke the Old Sect of the Western Mountains?"

"The reason is actually quite simple. He killed a heretic cultivator by the name of Wu Baoliang. This man was a personal disciple of the Old Sect of the Western Mountains, and moreover his own nephew by blood—which is why the old villain was stirred to action," Ning Shanghe explained.

"So that is how it is. No wonder the old villain is in such a frenzy. But with a heretic titan of the Mountain-Opening stage hunting him down in person, how could he possibly still be alive? Could some master be shielding him?" Liu Ziqi asked, puzzled.

She had never paid Wei Zhao any mind before, but since he could enter the Western Island Trials, his strength could be no more than the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. To the vast majority of cultivators that was already exceedingly high, yet before a heretic of the Old Sect of the Western Mountains' caliber he was no different from an ordinary mortal—a single thought could crush him to death.

If no master had intervened on his behalf, then for a mere Nascent Soul cultivator to survive under the Old Sect of the Western Mountains was something Liu Ziqi would not believe even if beaten to death—it was sheer fantasy.

"There really was none. You know as well as I do what the South Continent seas are like—apart from the spirit beast race, what master there could stand against the Old Sect of the Western Mountains?" Ning Shanghe said with a rueful laugh.

"That is true enough. The spirit beast race shuts itself away from the world, and heretic or not means nothing to them. Unlike the orthodox sects, who would hunt down an old villain of the Old Sect of the Western Mountains wherever they found one, no one would step forward of their own accord to move against the Old Sect unless there were a private grudge. Liu Ziqi nodded, then her interest kindled. "But if that is so, how did Wei Zhao escape calamity at the Old Sect's hands? Relying on himself alone, that seems hardly possible, does it not?"

"When I first saw the intelligence report, I too found it hard to believe. Yet the facts are what they are—Wei Zhao survived the Old Sect of the Western Mountains purely by his own strength," Ning Shanghe said with a note of feeling.

"How can that be?" Liu Ziqi was greatly shocked. At their level, few things could still make her lose her composure like this—yet a mere Nascent Soul cultivator had escaped the Old Sect's pursuit by his own power alone. This was not merely astonishing; it overturned one's whole understanding of the world!

"Apart from Wei Zhao himself and the Old Sect of the Western Mountains, I fear no third party knows the details. But according to my Western Island intelligence, one thing is certain: the key to Wei Zhao surviving this certain-death calamity was that he fled into the interior of the Southern Island," Ning Shanghe said.

"He fled into the Southern Island? No wonder the Old Sect dared not pursue further. But for a Nascent Soul cultivator to come away whole from the spirit beast race's territory—that is an unprecedented miracle." Liu Ziqi sighed in genuine admiration, then glanced at Ning Shanghe. "In that case this young man is truly extraordinary. It is no wonder you wished to take him as your son-in-law. If he truly matures in the years to come, he may well be a match even for your own."

"Indeed, that was my original thought. It is only a pity that now it seems it cannot be. But Heaven's will works in mysterious ways—rich water should not flow to an outsider's field, so I may as well yield him to your precious disciple," Ning Shanghe said, covering her mouth with a laugh.

"Hmph! He has carried off my disciple and trapped her in the trial grounds unable to get out, and I have yet to settle accounts with him properly. However lofty his talent, I will never agree to Die'er leaving with him!" Liu Ziqi snorted angrily.

"Heh heh, Ziyu, do not speak so absolutely just yet. Perhaps by the time the two of them come out of the trial grounds, they will already have a child between them..." Ning Shanghe, who always presented herself with stately dignity, now wore a rare touch of teasing mischief on her face.

"This..." Liu Ziqi's expression changed at once. She hesitated, then, unable to swallow her pride, said, "That still will not do! No matter what, I will not hand Die'er over to this young man whose background I know nothing of!"

"Heh heh. Speaking of which, Wei Zhao's background is hardly unknown to you. He comes from the Sandie Pavilion of the Northern Island—a disciple whom our elder Shangguan Tianxia values highly, no less," Ning Shanghe revealed with a smile.

"Oh? Is that true or not?" Only now did Liu Ziqi's expression finally shift. She had been shocked to hear of Wei Zhao's remarkable deeds, though she had never felt any particular goodwill toward him. But at the words that Wei Zhao came from under Shangguan Tianxia's banner, it became an entirely different matter.

Both she and Ning Shanghe had known Shangguan Tianxia for several hundred years. Though Shangguan Tianxia was their elder, they had once shared a master's tutelage, and the closeness of that bond could not be captured in a word or two. If Wei Zhao truly was a disciple Shangguan Tianxia valued, then however reluctant she felt, she could not keep digging in her heels and refusing to let go.

"Of course it is true. He was named by Shangguan Tianxia himself as the Northern Island's special envoy this time. Otherwise, why do you think I would consider him?" Ning Shanghe said, shaking her head with a laugh. To become Ning Shanghe's son-in-law, strength alone was not enough; what mattered most was knowing his roots through and through, for only that could guarantee the future stability of the Western Island's grand scheme.

"If that is truly so..." Liu Ziqi's expression shifted and settled for a moment, and at last she sighed. "Ah, very well. If it comes to it, I shall simply wait here a few years. Since he is a disciple Shangguan-ge values, then to have him end up with Die'er may be considered a fitting match. I truly have little ground left to object."

"Ziyu, oh Ziyu. If you truly gain Wei Zhao as your disciple's husband, that is your good fortune. Had it not been proclaimed far and wide long ago that only the trial's champion could become my son-in-law, do you think I would yield him to you so easily? And here you are sighing and groaning as though you had suffered some great loss. I truly do not know what to say to you," Ning Shanghe said, torn between laughter and tears.

Liu Ziqi smiled somewhat awkwardly. True, those words were not wrong—but Huo Yudie was, after all, the flesh of her heart, raised from childhood as though her own daughter. To suddenly find that flesh of her heart about to leave with another left a truly unpleasant taste in her mouth. Doubtless this was how all parents felt.

As the two were speaking, a Western Island disciple suddenly appeared at the door to report, his tone urgent: "Reporting to the Island Mistress, when this disciple was just now registering the trial participants, I discovered a man by the name of Kang Jingming who has dug up an immature Thunder Mystic Vine—and dug it up roots and all!"

"What? The wretch dares!" Ning Shanghe's expression changed drastically at these words. The Thunder Mystic Vine was a precious strategic resource, and the very foundation of the Western Island Trials. Had he merely cut one down in the normal course of things, she as Island Mistress would not be so small-minded as to take offense—but to dig up an immature Thunder Mystic Vine roots and all, was that something a sane man would do?! (To be continued)