Chapter 4925 — Why Don't You Just Surrender?

Judging by the name alone, one might think Dingcheng Town was indeed a notch or two below those academy main cities. But one must not forget—the Dingcheng Academy was the cradle of high-grade alchemists, and Dingcheng Town was the sacred ground of alchemists throughout the Yellow-Tier Sea. Practically every alchemist in the Yellow-Tier Sea made the pilgrimage here, and its lofty standing was plain for all to see.

In truth, despite being called Dingcheng Town, its overall scale was no smaller than those academy main cities—if anything, larger. The so-called Dingcheng Town was merely its innermost core, the sacred ground of alchemists where idlers were barred from entry.

Dingcheng Town was not only far from small; on the strength of its formidable influence as the alchemists' holy land, it could even hold its own against Leidong City, seat of the Yellow-Tier Academy Alliance's headquarters. Its town lord ranked among the foremost even when measured against the city lords of every Yellow-Tier academy main city.

That such a lofty sacred ground of alchemists should be dismissed as some little backwater—how were the people from genuinely small places supposed to swallow that?

"Wah-hah-hah-hah! I'm furious! You little bastard, you're asking for death! Men, cripple him for me!" Chang Laiting stamped his feet and cursed. Even as he spoke, he did not lift a finger himself—first, because he knew he could not win, and second, because there was no need for him to act in person. There was no shortage of people eager to deal with Wei Zhao on his behalf.

Naturally, the old owl was not among them. Before Wei Zhao he was fit only to flee in utter disgrace; even had he the inclination, he lacked the ability.

Sure enough, the moment Chang Laiting's words fell, two late Xuan Ascension experts of formidable aura flashed into being at his side!

The growing crowd of onlookers hurried to clear a space. Though many among them were newly minted early Xuan Ascension experts, they were still far outmatched by these two veteran late Xuan Ascension fighters. The piercing chill of their aura alone inspired dread, and none dared overstep in the slightest.

"Insolent wretch! You dare launch a sneak attack on Young Master Chang during the trial, and now you have the gall to slander our Dingcheng Academy before one and all—why don't you just surrender!" one of them barked with a frown.

"And who might you two be?" Wei Zhao's expression did not change in the least. He sized up the two late Xuan Ascension experts who had appeared out of nowhere. Their aura was fierce and powerful—surely not mere empty show—yet he could distinctly sense a certain rawness in it. Judging by the look of them, they were not the sort who fought often, or at least were not much good at it.

Wei Zhao's guess was entirely correct. Both were Libationers of the Dingcheng Academy, and both high-grade alchemists. Naturally they did not spar and hone themselves against others the way ordinary late Xuan Ascension experts did, so a certain rawness in their aura was unavoidable.

"Hmph! We are Libationers of the Dingcheng Academy. Whose academy's disciple are you? Name yourself at once!" the two demanded, looking down on him from their height.

Given Chang Laiting's rank and background, they two ordinary Libationers could only curry favor with him, so of course they had to put on a good show at a time like this. Yet they could not simply strike without a word—first they had to pin some great charge on Wei Zhao. Otherwise, if word of this spread and they earned a reputation for the strong bullying the weak, bringing disgrace upon the Dingcheng Academy, that would be most unseemly.

"Me? Hasn't Chang Laiting told you?" Wei Zhao shot Chang Laiting a somewhat astonished glance.

Chang Laiting's old face flushed at once. He had merely told these two to deal with Wei Zhao and vent his pent-up anger for him; as for the particulars of what had happened on the Giants' Road, why would he go into detail? After all, telling it would be humiliating!

The two Libationers of the Dingcheng Academy were taken aback as well. One look at Chang Laiting's expression and they knew something was off. They hastily changed tack: "Whichever academy's disciple you may be, you dared publicly slander our Dingcheng Academy. On that count alone you cannot be lightly forgiven. We may spare your life, but today we must cripple your cultivation as a warning to others!"

"This is too much!" Hearing this, Wang Xinyan could restrain herself no longer. She stepped forward at once, her powerful early Xuan Ascension aura on full display. Nor was she alone—Huang Xiaotao and Lu Xiaozhong likewise revealed their early Xuan Ascension strength.

Thus, counting Wei Zhao himself, there were four early Xuan Ascension experts in all. Though they amounted to nothing before the two late Xuan Ascension experts opposite them, the atmosphere in an instant turned thick with drawn swords and strung bows.

"Do you all wish to have your cultivation crippled as well? Wrecking your bright futures in a fit of impulse—you would spend the rest of your lives in darkness and helplessness. Stand down at once!" The two Libationers of the Dingcheng Academy both furrowed their brows at the sight.

It was not that they thought these few joined together were so formidable—in truth, if it came to blows, four early Xuan Ascension experts could not withstand a single move before them. But if things truly escalated to that point, there would be troublesome aftereffects.

Because Wei Zhao had spoken insolently, crippling his cultivation alone before the crowd was beyond reproach. But to cripple four newly promoted early Xuan Ascension experts all at once—and by the look of it, all from the same academy—that would be a feud of truly serious proportions!

Once the matter fermented, the Dingcheng Academy would surely have to give an account of itself, and this black pot could only be shouldered by the two of them. After all, they could hardly pin the blame on Chang Laiting, could they?

"Tsk, tsk. I never thought the Dingcheng Academy would be this overbearing too. I thought the Leidong Academy was the only one with that kind of temperament. Today really has been an eye-opener!" Lu Xiaozhong was the sort who lived to stir up trouble. At a moment like this he was not afraid in the least—instead he needled them with a sardonic, taunting tone. A brawl at worst, and he had seen plenty of those.

"Watch your tongue, boy. We hold back from striking rashly only out of consideration that you are all disciples of a brother academy. Do not refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!" the Dingcheng Academy Libationer said in a chilling tone.

"Oh, I'm so scared!" Lu Xiaozhong cried with exaggerated terror, wearing an expression that, however one looked at it, was begging for a beating—a true inheritor of his father Lu Dachang's legacy.

"Asking for death!" The two Libationers were so furious their mouths twisted askew. Had they not retained the last shred of their reason, they would have dearly loved to split Lu Xiaozhong in two with a single palm strike. This brat was just too infuriating!

"Your esteemed academy is truly something. Crippling a person's cultivation without so much as distinguishing right from wrong—do you really think the Morning Star Academy is so easy to bully!" Wang Xinyan hurried forward to say, not daring to let Lu Xiaozhong spout any more nonsense.

After all, the other side had two late Xuan Ascension experts; once a fight broke out, their own group would surely come off the worse. The best way to resolve today's affair was to raise the name of the Morning Star Academy and deter the other side from acting rashly. By strength, the Morning Star Academy ranked among the first-rate even among the Yellow-Tier academies, and its name still carried considerable weight.