Chapter 4892 — A Little Strange

"Master Lin, our spirit is willing but our strength is spent—we truly dare not linger in this place. Forgive us, forgive us!" The crowd exchanged glances and spoke one after another.

"Oh, that is no trouble. Then you should all leave together and look out for one another on the way." Wei Zhao smiled. That so many of them should all choose to depart at once was, he had to admit, a little unexpected—but there was no point in forcing the matter. After all, to each his own ambition.

"Take care, Master Lin!" The crowd cupped their hands in farewell at once. On this expedition, Wei Zhao, as their temporary captain, had found every one of them a lightning tribulation site. Whether or not they ultimately succeeded in advancing, they would hold this favor in their hearts. Had it not been for Wei Zhao, they likely could not have seized even a single tribulation site, let alone made their assault on the Xuan Sheng stage.

"Take care, all of you," Wei Zhao said with a nod. When he saw Qin Chan withdraw along with the crowd—the two male disciples of Morning Star Academy still trailing at her side—he could not help but knit his brows slightly.

Yet Wei Zhao said nothing more. This was no time for questions; whatever secrets Qin Chan carried could wait until they were back at Morning Star Academy.

He watched the Morning Star Academy disciples depart. Then Huo Yudie, who stood nearby, suddenly wore a look of difficulty as well. After a moment's hesitation, she said, "I... I have to go back too..."

"What?" Wei Zhao was taken aback. He had assumed that, having met her here by rare chance, he might at last have time to spend with Huo Yudie—but now even she was leaving.

"Before I came out this time, my master warned me again and again that I must advance and retreat together with the disciples of Morning Pride Academy and Soaring Cloud Academy no matter what. Whether or not I succeed, I must withdraw as quickly as possible and not linger," Huo Yudie said with a bitter smile. She too wished to stay by Wei Zhao's side, but her master's command could not be defied.

"In that case, you had best head back first. There will be no shortage of chances to meet again. Be careful on the road," Wei Zhao said at once with a nod.

"Mm, you too." Huo Yudie gave Wei Zhao a reluctant, gentle embrace, then turned to bid farewell to Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao. "You two must take good care of yourselves as well. Your little sister takes her leave first."

"Until we meet again! Come visit us at Morning Star when you have time!" Huang Xiaotao said with a laugh—but then she realized that Morning Star and Morning Pride were sworn enemies. Huo Yudie, as a prized disciple of Morning Pride Academy, could hardly come strolling into Morning Star Academy whenever she pleased! Would that not be inviting enmity for nothing?

Seeing her awkward expression, Huo Yudie could not help but smile. "Actually, you two could come to Soaring Cloud Academy when you have time. Feifei is there—the four of us sisters could get together nicely."

"That works. We would have enough for a mahjong table," Wang Xinyan said, casting Wei Zhao a glance full of allure. The man's luck with women truly defied description—barely two years on Cloud Terrace Island, and already he had gathered so many sisters, each of higher station than the last, each more stunning than the last. It left one at a loss for words.

Wei Zhao rubbed his nose a little awkwardly and gave an embarrassed chuckle. "By the way, Yudie, will you be staying at Morning Pride Academy after this, or will you be heading to the Xuan Terrace Sea soon?"

"Not that soon. Though early-stage Xuan Sheng experts generally do not linger long at Yellow Terrace academies, the Xuan Terrace academies in the Xuan Terrace Sea do not take in disciples whenever they please—one must wait for notice. Otherwise, going early would be of no use," Huo Yudie said with a shake of her head.

"Mm, it is the same here at Morning Star Academy. I heard my master speak of it—on the day the Xuan Terrace academies openly select disciples, all of us Yellow Terrace academies send our Xuan Sheng stage disciples over together, and along the way we compete with one another to see whose academy sends the most Xuan Sheng stage disciples, and whose are the strongest," Wang Xinyan added.

"Good, then. Even if there is no chance before that, we are sure to meet again when the time comes to go to the Xuan Terrace Sea. Yudie, until we meet again," Wei Zhao said, reassured.

"Until we meet again." Huo Yudie nodded. After bidding the others a reluctant farewell, she finally departed together with her academy companions.

The Morning Star Academy group had gone, and Huo Yudie and her party had gone as well. Now only three people remained at Wei Zhao's side. Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao went without saying—but the other was Lu Xiaozhong.

This fellow was a true exception. Though he had known Wei Zhao only a short while, he had taken his father Lu Dachang's instructions firmly to heart: whatever was done, wherever Wei Zhao went, he would follow. He could not possibly come to harm that way—and if Wei Zhao ate meat, he could at least get a share of the broth.

Wei Zhao and the two women were caught between laughter and tears at the sight. The fellow was an oddity, just like his father—but fortunately, he had been fairly obedient along the way and had not brought them any trouble, so they let him tag along. At most, they would give him a hand if danger arose.

"Let us be off. Time to see this Giant's Road properly—there will be no chance to come back again!" Wei Zhao swept his hand grandly and took the lead himself, guiding the others. Following the main road was certainly safer, but it would surely yield no treasures, so he once again led them off into the wild forest trails.

Heavy mist, utter desolation, and now and then a strange cry from somewhere nearby—what creature made it, no one could tell, but it set the hairs on end.

"What kind of hellish place is this!" Lu Xiaozhong looked around at the mist-shrouded surroundings, his heart quailing. Wei Zhao had led them along small paths before as well, but at that time he had only been a peak Nascent Soul cultivator, and even then it had not felt so chilling as this.

After all, back then all the Morning Star Academy disciples had moved together—strength in numbers—and they had been fairly close to the teleportation array's exit, where nothing terrifying normally roamed, so he had felt somewhat secure.

But now, Lu Xiaozhong kept feeling faintly that something was watching him, and it made his skin crawl. Yet when he tried to probe with his divine sense, he could detect nothing at all. Was he seeing ghosts in broad daylight?

"I feel a little strange too..." Affected by him, Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao could not help shrinking their necks and instinctively drew a little closer to Wei Zhao. Only at his side could the two of them find any sense of safety.

"No need to be so jumpy. Just be a little careful, that is all. This is the Giant's Road, after all—if there were nothing formidable about it, what heavenly treasures would we expect to find?" Wei Zhao said with a faint smile.

"Yes, yes, Master Lin is right!" Lu Xiaozhong nodded again and again. Any rare heavenly treasure was certain to be surrounded by powerful spirit beasts or other defenses of every conceivable kind—that was common knowledge in the world of cultivation. If something formidable was truly watching them, then it meant good things were close at hand.