Chapter 4880 — How Is That Possible!

Wei Zhao shook his hand in open disappointment and tossed off a remark: "And this is supposed to be the universally acknowledged foremost Nascent Soul cultivator? Acknowledged by whom? Did he buy the title?"

The crowd had long since turned to stone. Hearing this, they could only scream their protests inwardly: even if he wasn't acknowledged by the whole cultivation world, he was at least acknowledged throughout Leidong City! Who could have guessed they would run into a freak like this?

A dead silence hung over the field for a long while, and only when Wang Dianxing came plummeting out of the sky did the murmuring finally begin. By then the head of Leidong Academy, who had swaggered so boldly, had crashed down like a dead dog, blood pouring from his mouth beyond all stopping, unable even to climb to his feet.

Everyone had thought Ren Zhongyuan's fate wretched enough; now, wonders never ceased, along came someone who had fallen even harder—and that someone was Wang Dianxing himself. Retribution in this world truly came swiftly.

Unable to rise though he was, Wang Dianxing had at least not died on the spot, and still had the strength to thrash desperately on the ground. Staring at Wei Zhao, who stood right before him, as though at some monster, he howled in disbelief: "Impossible! How is that possible! You are at the mid Xuan Ascension stage? How did you get in?"

The crowd had just begun to catch its breath, but at these words a wave of sharp intakes of air swept through them in perfect unison, and they nearly choked to death on the spot!

Their nerves had been battered into a kind of numbness. Had such a claim come from anyone else's mouth, they would at most have dismissed it as deliberate exaggeration—but it was Wang Dianxing who had spoken, and that made all the difference to its credibility.

After all, the strength of this head of Leidong Academy was enough to rival the early Xuan Ascension stage, even its very peak. Only a true mid Xuan Ascension expert could have slapped him into such a state with a single blow!

The people of Chenjiao Academy and Xiangyun Academy were at least somewhat prepared. Anyone who had seen or even heard of Wei Zhao's bitter battle with Leng Rufeng would not find this outcome surprising.

But the crowd from Leidong Academy, and the onlookers gathered to the side, knew nothing of that history. The way they looked at Wei Zhao now was no longer mere shock—it was downright awe!

To say Wei Zhao was only an early Xuan Ascension expert, perhaps one could still hold out a sliver of possibility: that he had found a lightning tribulation point the moment he entered, and with rapid enough breakthroughs, well, it might just be. But to say he was mid Xuan Ascension—that was absolutely impossible.

How much time had passed since he entered? Not even half a day! To break through to the early Xuan Ascension stage in that span would already be astonishing. Mid Xuan Ascension? What kind of speed was that supposed to be?!

By such reasoning, the man must already have been a mid Xuan Ascension expert before he ever came in—but that was impossible too!

Never mind what a mid Xuan Ascension expert would be doing sneaking in here; the special mechanism of the teleportation formation alone made it an impossibility.

The teleportation formation here had been specially set up by the Academy Alliance. It could send Xuan Ascension experts out, but for sending anyone in, the limit was nothing above consummate Nascent Soul. This was to guarantee at least a modicum of fairness—otherwise, if some academy with ulterior motives sent in a few Xuan Ascension experts to make trouble, no one would be able to break through in peace.

The crowd was utterly baffled. It was not that no one had considered the possibility that Wei Zhao was in fact merely a consummate Nascent Soul—only that such a notion seemed to them even less plausible than mid Xuan Ascension. A mere consummate Nascent Soul, comparable to mid Xuan Ascension?

There were limits even to jokes! Wang Dianxing was a legendary consummate Nascent Soul, and even he could at best rival the peak of the early Xuan Ascension stage!

But be that as it may, faced with a ruthless figure like Wei Zhao, this "mid Xuan Ascension" terror, and looking at the wretched state of Wang Dianxing, the whole of Leidong Academy was struck dumb, their momentum for contesting Wei Zhao gone in an instant.

True, they had the numbers; if they all rushed him together, they might even be able to finish Wei Zhao off. But the trouble was, their opponent was not alone either.

In the end, this pack of Leidong Academy disciples, so ferocious a moment ago, lifted the prostrate Wang Dianxing and, for all their unwillingness, acknowledged defeat and withdrew.

"What kind of wolf pack is that supposed to be? Looks more like a sheep pen to me!" Lu Xiaozhong crowed in triumph from behind, twisting the knife. The crowd was left seething with stomach cramps of rage, but one look at Wei Zhao and they could only hang their heads and slink away, scrambling off in their sorry state as fast as they could—after all, staying any longer was simply too humiliating.

One man alone had driven off the wolf-natured Leidong Academy! Everyone else was utterly dumbstruck by the sight. Even the people of Chenjiao Academy and Xiangyun Academy could still scarcely believe it. What did it mean to be earth-shatteringly awesome? This, right here, this was the real thing!

"Wei Zhao!" At last Huo Yudie could remove her veil, and she came running up with a joyful cry. Heedless of the strange looks from those around her, she threw her arms around his.

Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao were startled for a moment, then exchanged a smile and stepped back a little, leaving the two of them their intimate space.

"Heh, from the very first day I arrived here I wondered whether you would come. It's a pity I couldn't act on my own before and never had the chance—but now I've finally found you!" Wei Zhao said with a smile, drawing her into a brief embrace. For some reason, after these months apart, the feeling between them had not grown distant at all—rather, it had drawn closer.

Was this what they called absence making the heart grow fonder? The thought surfaced in Huo Yudie's mind and gave her such a start that her cheeks nearly caught fire. She and Wei Zhao had not done anything yet—where did this "newlywed" business come from!

"I never thought I'd run into you here. I'm so happy..." Huo Yudie murmured, blushing furiously. When Wei Zhao left Xiangyun Academy he had only been at the mid Nascent Soul stage; even given her closeness to him, she would never have dared imagine they would be reunited on the Road of Giants. To her, this was a joy beyond all expectation.

"So am I," Wei Zhao said with a smile, then caught sight of Yi Xiaotian not far off, supporting Ren Zhongyuan as he limped toward them, and could not help raising an eyebrow.

Ren Zhongyuan's heart was a tangle of emotions at that moment. Watching the girl he adored act so sweetly at Wei Zhao's side, of course he burned with jealousy—but even Wang Dianxing had come off badly at Wei Zhao's hands, and in the end had fled in such a sorry state that he dared not utter a single word of protest. What, then, could Ren Zhongyuan possibly do?

Huo Yudie was out of the question for now. The only thought left to him and Yi Xiaotian and the others was to shamelessly come over and make nice with Wei Zhao; a few soft words might yet buy them a place. After all, a lightning tribulation point this good was not easy to find—otherwise they would never have quarreled with Leidong Academy over it in the first place. (To be continued...)