Chapter 4817 — The Western Mountain Master

The reason Wei Zhao had suddenly changed his mind and come here was simple: he had noticed someone following him—and not just for a short stretch, but the whole way from the Xiangyun Academy.

At the speed of Wei Zhao's Super Butterfly Microstep, anyone who could tail him so effortlessly had to be at least a Xuan Ascension stage expert. What was more, even with his spiritual sense, Wei Zhao had only vaguely sensed the presence and could never pin it down—which meant he had to tread carefully. One thing was certain: whatever was behind him was no pushover.

Wei Zhao had guessed correctly. The one trailing him was indeed no ordinary figure; it was the Western Mountain Master, the expert Ren Zhongyuan and Yi Xiaotian had gone to such lengths to summon.

He had picked up Wei Zhao's trail the moment he spotted him at the academy gate, but he had not chosen to strike—not because he didn't want to, but because he didn't dare. Unless he could be sure no one was around, he wouldn't have dared to act even if he'd been given two lives.

After all, this was still within the academy's sphere of influence, and a heretic cultivator of his caliber was a rat scurrying through the streets that everyone wanted to beat to death. The moment he showed himself, he would be set upon from all sides. Though he was a late-stage Xuan Ascension expert, in the Eastern Continent he truly amounted to little; any one of the academy's bigwigs could kill him with ease.

The Western Mountain Master had planned to wait until he was out of the academy's sphere of influence before striking. In the cultivation world no one meddled in others' business, and it was the same here in the Eastern Continent: so long as you didn't run wild inside their sphere of influence, those academy experts would turn a blind eye even knowing full well you were a heretic cultivator—and sometimes they would even work with you, just as Ren Zhongyuan and Yi Xiaotian had done.

Who would have thought Wei Zhao would suddenly change course and enter the small town? The Western Mountain Master had no choice but to disguise himself as an ordinary man and take a room at the same inn. Fortunately this was not a tightly policed main city, or he might not have dared follow him in at all. The town was a混杂 of dragons and snakes, after all—so long as he didn't openly declare himself a heretic cultivator, there was little problem.

Over the next two days, Wei Zhao did not set off for the Morning Star Academy as planned. Instead he wandered here and there about the town, and after a full two days of it, he finally locked onto his tracker: a late-stage Xuan Ascension expert staying in the room directly below his at the same inn.

Wei Zhao could not help but click his tongue in secret. This fellow was truly no simple matter—separated only by a single wooden board, and yet with all his perceptiveness it had taken him this long to ferret the man out. His skill at hiding his presence was simply first-rate.

What puzzled him, though, was this: why would a great expert of the late Xuan Ascension stage follow him for no reason at all? It looked like ill intent—could Yi Xiaotian have hired this one to deal with him? But two whole days had passed, so why was the fellow still holding back? Was he afraid there were too many people about?

Just as Wei Zhao was muttering to himself, a cackling laugh suddenly rang out in his mind: "Why is it that the higher your cultivation, the smaller your guts? What's there to be so startled about? It's just a piece of trash heretic cultivator at the Xuan Ascension stage. Lure him somewhere deserted and finish him off—is there any need for all this hemming and hawing?"

"This thing is a heretic cultivator? No wonder he doesn't dare strike in public!" Wei Zhao started at the words, then shook his head with a bitter smile. "Senior, you make it sound so easy. Even if he is a heretic cultivator, he's still a bona fide late-stage Xuan Ascension expert—no telling who finishes off whom."

In the past, with his current late Nascent Soul strength, Wei Zhao might not truly have taken a late-stage Xuan Ascension expert seriously. Habit became second nature; once you had killed enough Xuan Ascension experts, you naturally stopped thinking much of them. But Leng Rufeng's appearance had completely overturned that understanding.

There is always a higher heaven above, and beyond a man there is always another man. Xuan Ascension experts were not cabbages, after all. Even if his present strength could instantly slay an ordinary Xuan Ascension expert, should he run into a truly formidable one, the consequences were hard to predict.

After all, a mere early-stage Xuan Ascension expert like Leng Rufeng had already been able to press him hard in battle. Should he truly encounter a troublesome late-stage Xuan Ascension expert, even Wei Zhao would have no choice but to be hunted down.

"A late-stage Xuan Ascension expert—well, that depends on who it is. If it were Leng Rufeng at the late Xuan Ascension stage, I'd certainly advise you to turn tail and run. But this piece of trash heretic cultivator? He's about on the level of Leng Rufeng after you wore him down for five straight days. Don't tell me you can't even kill something like that?" The ghostly thing curled its lip.

"Is that so? Then that's wonderful. I was just worrying that I had no one to spar with—this one has come at just the right time!" Wei Zhao brightened at once.

Ever since that half month of fighting Leng Rufeng had advanced him two levels in a row, he had acquired a taste for it. Whenever he had nothing to do, he wanted to seek Leng Rufeng out for a bout, and just before setting out this time he had deliberately sparred with him several more times. Unfortunately, though Leng Rufeng had recovered his condition, he clearly no longer dared to go all out.

The man set great store by rank and station. Facing Wei Zhao, his leader, he simply did not dare fight freely. What if he lost control for a moment and wounded Wei Zhao badly—or even killed him outright?

Wei Zhao argued and cajoled at length, but Leng Rufeng simply could not loosen up. Their several bouts could only ever stop short of real force, leaving Wei Zhao thoroughly bored and not in the least satisfied. But now things were fine: here was a late-stage Xuan Ascension expert delivered right to his door, and this heretic cultivator was neither too strong nor too weak—just right as a sparring partner.

Having locked onto the Western Mountain Master's position, Wei Zhao did not act rashly. He waited until the middle of the night, then suddenly slipped away without a sound. Against anyone else, nine times out of ten he would not have been noticed; but the Western Mountain Master sensed it at once.

To pave his road to advancement with Wei Zhao's head, the Western Mountain Master had truly applied himself this time. He had kept track of Wei Zhao's position almost every moment, waiting for the final chance to strike—and now at last it had come.

A sinister smile flickered across the Western Mountain Master's face as he gave chase. After that inexplicable two days of circling about town, even a fool would know Wei Zhao had sensed something amiss. And yet the boy actually thought he could slip away under his very nose in the dark—naive beyond all cure.

Fixing his lock on Wei Zhao's aura from afar, the Western Mountain Master was in no hurry to strike. Even though it was night, to be safe he had to wait until they were out of the academy's sphere of influence. Haste makes waste; he must not startle the snake and ruin the whole affair.

Wei Zhao was still traveling by Super Butterfly Microstep. That speed was already extraordinary, and under the cover of night he was as good as a ghost—the ordinary eye could not even follow him, let alone keep a distant tail on him.