Chapter 4815 — I Just Want to Say a Few Words

"Oh? Then tell me quickly, and in detail!" Ren Zhongyuan's interest was roused at once; at the mere mention of such a thing his spirits revived, and he looked nothing like the sickly invalid he had been a moment before.

"Have you forgotten, Brother Ren? Here in the Yellow-Tier Seas, apart from all those Yellow-Tier academies, there is also a Yellow-Tier branch of the Western Hills Evil Sect hidden away!" Yi Xiaotian reminded him.

"You mean..." Ren Zhongyuan's eyes lit up. The Western Hills Evil Sect was an evil-cultivator power that everyone cried out to strike down, and few people knew that the Yellow-Tier Seas on the Eastern Continent side actually harbored a Yellow-Tier branch of it. He and Yi Xiaotian had not known either, but during one trial they had by chance encountered several skilled evil cultivators; the two sides had not fought, but instead cooperated on the spot, each taking what they needed—which was how they came to know of this secret.

"Heh heh, all we need to do is pay a certain price, and finding a skilled evil cultivator to finish off Wei Zhao is simplicity itself. And I guarantee it will be done without a whisper, without a trace—no one will be able to suspect us!" Yi Xiaotian said, lowering his voice.

"Right, now that you mention it, I remember! I heard that Wei Zhao happens to have a grudge against their Western Hills Evil Sect's Western Hills Old Sect. A feud of their own making—so it's entirely reasonable for a skilled evil cultivator to come seeking vengeance on Wei Zhao. It's a ready-made blade delivered right to our door, haha!" Ren Zhongyuan's spirits soared; he actually sat up in bed in one motion. A man is doubly glad when good fortune comes his way—his illness was instantly more than half cured.

The two of them talked back and forth, hashing out the details, and then Ren Zhongyuan quietly took two seventh-grade pills from his father as bargaining chips, while Yi Xiaotian set out in person to negotiate cooperation with those skilled evil cultivators.

Because pill refiners were exceedingly rare among evil cultivators, skilled evil cultivators had always been desperately short of high-grade pills; add to that the existing grudge between Wei Zhao and the Western Hills Old Sect, and the two sides struck a deal on the spot. After only a single day, Yi Xiaotian hurried back to Xiangyun Academy.

"How did it go? Did they agree?" Ren Zhongyuan asked impatiently.

"It's settled. A skilled cultivator at the late Mystic Ascension Stage by the name of Western Hills Great Ability will go deal with Wei Zhao personally. As soon as the boy leaves our academy, he'll make his move!" Yi Xiaotian said with a chuckle.

"A late Mystic Ascension Stage cultivator?" Ren Zhongyuan was delighted. He had assumed the other side would at most send an ordinary Mystic Ascension Stage cultivator; he never imagined it would be a late-stage one. To be able to summon a cultivator of that caliber for just two seventh-grade pills—what a bargain!

"Truth be told, it was luck. This Western Hills Great Ability was just then looking for a way to ingratiate himself with the Western Hills Old Sect, so the moment he heard about Wei Zhao he perked up. Otherwise, we really couldn't have moved him," Yi Xiaotian said, counting his blessings.

"Good, good, good! With this Western Hills Great Ability going in person, Wei Zhao is already a dead man!" Ren Zhongyuan laughed heartily, and immediately climbed out of bed. Paying no heed even to his own father's order confining him to his room, he grabbed Yi Xiaotian and said, "Come on, come on, let's go drink. This calls for a proper celebration!"

While Ren Zhongyuan was busy scheming on his side, Wei Zhao remained completely unaware. With Leng Rufeng and Yang Qianshuang standing guard, along with the care of Chen Xinglan and Liu Ziqi and the others, Ning Xuefei's safety was no longer a concern. At last he could go do a few things he wanted to do.

And Wei Zhao's first plan was naturally to go visit Morning Star Academy. Although he had no need to worry about Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao's circumstances, since he had rarely made the trip to the Eastern Continent, he naturally ought to go see them and catch up properly.

Although they were in the same Yellow-Tier Seas, this was the Eastern Continent—the Yellow-Tier Seas alone was already larger than all the seas of the Southern Continent put together—so Morning Star Academy was not exactly close, though fortunately it was not too far either.

After getting a map from Chen Xinglan and studying it carefully, Wei Zhao found that even without a flying spirit beast, it was only a few days' journey from here to Morning Star Academy. Of course, that was measured by his own speed; an ordinary Nascent Soul Stage cultivator would have to walk for a month or more. After all, no normal person would be so extravagant as to use movement techniques and martial arts just to travel—only a fool would do such a thing.

Once everything was settled, he specifically sent word to invite Liu Ziqi and Huo Yudie over as well, and after everyone had a meal together, Wei Zhao finally took his leave of them all and set off.

During these two months at Xiangyun Academy, Wei Zhao had specifically sent Huo Yudie back to Chenjiao Academy to investigate one matter, a matter he cared about a great deal! It concerned that mortal-world woman who had offended Yao Jiali and was ultimately secretly released by Huo Yudie.

Just who was this mortal-world woman, and was she or was she not one of his own beloved companions? Wei Zhao had been uneasy about this all along, eager to know the answer.

Yet although Huo Yudie had spent considerable effort investigating, and even Liu Ziqi had stepped in to help, they had still been unable to reach any concrete conclusion. Even Chenjiao Academy's records concerning that mortal-world woman were exceedingly sparse, and since her disappearance she had vanished from the world as completely as if she had evaporated, never to appear again.

There was only one thing known: the woman had gone by the alias "Xiao Nian."

Wei Zhao was utterly helpless in the face of this result. Knowing only an alias, there was simply no way to determine who the woman really was—after all, upon arriving in such a completely unfamiliar place, anyone might use a false name.

Helpless as he was, Wei Zhao could not afford to keep pouring himself into this matter indefinitely. The woman had already vanished, and lingering here further was meaningless. Better to go first to Morning Star Academy and see Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao; as for the matter of this mortal-world woman, he could only look into it again when the chance arose later.

Ning Xuefei and the others escorted him all the way to the academy gate. Wei Zhao was just about to wave farewell when a man not far ahead suddenly walked straight toward him, looking as though he had been waiting at the gate for some time.

"Stop right there!" Before the man could get near Wei Zhao, Leng Rufeng suddenly blocked his path. He now styled himself Wei Zhao's junior, so naturally he would not let anyone come disturb Wei Zhao.

"I..." The man was startled on the spot. Even without releasing his aura, a cultivator of Leng Rufeng's strength exerted a pressure that ordinary people could not withstand. The fellow stumbled back several steps and nearly tripped over his own feet. He had apparently meant to say something more, but one glance from Leng Rufeng and he immediately did not dare speak.

Wei Zhao glanced at him without a word, but inwardly he could not help smiling to himself. The deterrent force of this fellow Leng Rufeng was simply outrageous; this junior of his had truly not been taken on in vain, and he was perfectly suited to serve as a bodyguard.