Chapter 4923 — I've Got You Memorized!

"I—you—" Ni Caiyue was so flustered she could not think of a single retort for a moment. She tilted her head and racked her brains for a good long while, then suddenly her eyes lit up. "Ah! Now I remember!"

"Oh? So you've finally remembered that I told you I'm from North Island? Your reflexes really do break through the heavens!" Wei Zhao gave a rather speechless laugh.

"No, no, no—I remembered that my master once said there's a terribly formidable top-tier expert on North Island, and his name seems to be..." Ni Caiyue trailed off halfway through.

"Seems to be what?" At that moment the first thing that surfaced in Wei Zhao's mind was actually Gongyang Jun, Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall—that legendary figure of North Island's younger generation who, ever since Wei Zhao first learned of him, had exerted an inexplicably powerful pressure on him, and was the man Wei Zhao had secretly sworn in his heart that he would one day surpass.

But on second thought, Wei Zhao knew he was overthinking it. The only reason Gongyang Jun came to mind was simply that this was the goal he must surpass; but as for Gongyang Jun's fame being so widely known all the way out here in East Continent, that was utterly impossible.

For one thing, within North Island alone there were surely quite a few people whose strength surpassed Gongyang Jun's—for instance, Lan Tieshan, the senior disciple and inner-gate steward of the Chongtian Pavilion. Judging from how he had behaved when facing the new Azure Dragon, that man's strength should be no less than Gongyang Jun's, to say nothing of those top-tier titans standing at the very peak.

"Shangguan Tianxia! Yes, yes, that's it—Shangguan Tianxia!" Ni Caiyue clapped her hands excitedly and looked at Wei Zhao with shining eyes. "Young Hero, you're so formidable that even the likes of Chang Laiting are no match for you. They call you invincible among those of your level, and you're a top-tier alchemist to boot—so you must be Shangguan Tianxia's disciple, right?"

Wei Zhao laughed silently to himself at this. So it was Shangguan Tianxia after all—back during the West Island trial, it had been his name that made Ren Zhongyuan and the others sit up and take notice, which showed that this top-tier titan was no simple figure. Otherwise, if he were merely the Pavilion Master of the Chongtian Pavilion, he could at most overawe North Island; to become famous throughout East Continent like this would be utterly impossible!

"Congratulations—you got it right!" Wei Zhao simply nodded. He had no intention of denying such a thing; after all, explaining would be rather troublesome, so he might as well not explain at all—in any case, saying so was not exactly wrong.

"So it really is true! My master said Shangguan Tianxia was once a great figure who left behind legends here in East Continent—his strength was outrageously formidable. And you're actually his disciple, Young Hero—amazing!" Ni Caiyue's eyes were full of little worshipping stars.

"A legend of East Continent in days past, eh? Hah." Wei Zhao could not help but laugh. It was not exactly surprising—apart from the spirit beast clan, practically every great figure from the other cloud-tier islands had trained in East Continent at some point, so leaving behind legendary deeds was only natural—but even so, Wei Zhao was somewhat taken aback.

Come to think of it, although Wei Zhao had met Shangguan Tianxia quite a few times—and thanks to Shangguan Lan'er, their relationship could be considered rather familiar, with the outside world even widely rumored to regard him as Shangguan Tianxia's personal disciple—his actual knowledge of this top-tier titan of North Island was pitifully meager. He knew absolutely nothing about the man's past; this was the first time he had learned anything from the side, and it came from Ni Caiyue's mouth.

"No, no, that's not right!" Ni Caiyue suddenly shook her head repeatedly. "Shangguan Tianxia didn't seem to be an alchemist, and you're so good at alchemy—surely he wasn't the one who taught you?"

"Oh? Then who do you think taught me?" Wei Zhao exchanged a speechless glance with Wang Xinyan and the others. He himself had already admitted she got it right, and now she had decided she was wrong. Talking with this little Ni girl really was exhausting.

"Hmm..." Ni Caiyue tilted her head and pondered for a moment, then slapped her forehead. "Now I remember again! I heard there's a terribly formidable Pill God, Zhang Lifeng, who also came from North Island—you're not Zhang Lifeng's disciple, are you?"

"Congratulations—you can answer two ways now. The intelligent mind has once again seized the high ground!" Wei Zhao had thoroughly transformed into a master con artist.

"Mm-hmm, I really am quite smart to begin with!" Ni Caiyue lifted her chin smugly. A moment later she blinked and asked, "By the way, what is an intelligent mind? And what high ground did it seize?"

"It's nothing—nothing that has much to do with you anyway." This remark drew a snort of laughter from Wang Xinyan beside him, and she could not help giving Wei Zhao a reproachful glare. Of everyone present, only she understood what he meant.

"Oh, oh. As long as it has nothing to do with me, that's fine." Ni Caiyue went along with it readily, wearing an expression that suggested she found the whole matter a nuisance.

This time, not just Wang Xinyan—even Wei Zhao himself was amused. Seeing the puzzled look on the other's face, he quickly straightened his expression and said, "First Shangguan Tianxia, then Zhang Lifeng—so whose disciple am I, really?"

"I know! You're the disciple of both of them!" Ni Caiyue answered eagerly, snatching the words away.

"Congratulations—now you can even snatch the answers!" Wei Zhao gave her a thumbs-up with a look of admiration. Faced with this adorably foolish little girl, the hidden con-artist in him had been thoroughly drawn out. If nothing else, the journey was all laughter and cheer—she was quite good at entertaining and dispelling boredom.

The group of five made their way back to the teleportation point. Since they took the main road the whole way, they encountered no mishaps at all—not even a single spirit beast, and as for the academy disciples, every one of them kept far away.

After all, not one of them had bothered to conceal their strength—five whole early-stage Xuan Ascension experts in perfect formation. Such a formidable lineup was practically invincible on the Road of Titans, and no one dared provoke them; otherwise they might well be killed in turn and robbed of their treasures. Such things were far too common.

Two days later, Wei Zhao's group finally arrived back at the teleportation point. The disciples of the other academies stepped aside of their own accord when they saw them, and they were soon teleported out without a hitch.

Emerging from the teleportation array, they found themselves at the docks. By now, a small portion of the warships and treasure ships that had been moored here were already gone, though the academies whose disciples had not yet all returned would naturally still stay and wait. Once the one-month deadline passed, they would have to leave regardless of whether the disciples had returned—such was the rule of the Yellow-Rank Academy Alliance.

"Young Hero, I understand now—you're actually a big good person!" Ni Caiyue turned to Wei Zhao and said suddenly. Once out of the teleportation array, they would naturally go back to their own ships and forget one another from then on.

"Is that so? At last I've heard a kind word from your mouth—that was truly no easy feat." Wei Zhao chuckled at this. For once, he had surprisingly not tacked on a well-hidden prefix—a cause for celebration indeed.

"Mm-hmm, I've got you memorized!" Ni Caiyue nodded emphatically.