Chapter 4941 — Recommending the Profound Rank

"This is my..." Wei Zhao paused, then suddenly winked at Huo Yudie and said with a smile, "girlfriend. Huo Yudie, of Morning Star Academy."

"Girlfriend? What does that mean?" Zhuang Yifan had no notion of this term from the mortal world. He thought for a moment, then put on a look of perfect understanding. "Oh, a female friend, of course. I never imagined even Master Lin's way of speaking would be so full of wit and humor, heh heh."

He still assumed Wei Zhao was merely joking, and so he played along with a quite obliging chuckle, never realizing that for such a thing to pop out of Wei Zhao's mouth was practically a public declaration of love!

Zhuang Yifan and the others did not understand, but Huo Yudie understood perfectly clearly. At those words her pretty face flushed crimson with shyness, and she gazed at Wei Zhao with tender affection, wanting to say something—only to realize at once that this was neither the time nor the place. She hurriedly forced all those girlish feelings back down, and instead turned to glance at Zhuang Yifan with some puzzlement. Was this Alliance President not here to arrest Wei Zhao?

"Since everyone's here, why not all come aboard and sit for a while?" Wei Zhao issued the invitation with a smile, and at the same time shot a meaningful look at Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao. Huo Yudie and Liu Ziqi must be brimming with questions by now, and someone needed to explain the whole situation to them properly.

Everyone nodded at once. Li Ren took the lead in front, Wei Zhao walked in the middle, Zhuang Yifan deliberately hung back a step, and the rest trailed behind—altogether a bustling spectacle, like stars crowding around the moon.

Bao Zuoliang and Su Kesheng, who had stayed aboard to watch the fun, nearly had their eyeballs pop out at the sight. Their gloom at this moment could well match Ren Zhongyuan's—this had been the perfect scenario for Wei Zhao to meet his death, so how had it inexplicably turned into this?

Gloom or no gloom, this was plainly no occasion for the likes of them to speak. Even Li Ren, an officiating alchemist leading a group, stood trembling beside Zhuang Yifan—to say nothing of mere academy disciples like themselves.

Beyond bowing to Zhuang Yifan from afar, there was nothing they could do; they dared not take a single step closer. All they could do was watch helplessly as Li Ren escorted Wei Zhao and Zhuang Yifan into the reception hall. Apart from Liu Ziqi, the only ones with the standing to follow them in were Wei Zhao's beauties.

"What the hell is going on here? Didn't you say Wei Zhao was dead for sure? How has this brat gone and gotten chummy with the Alliance President?" Bao Zuoliang was so furious he stamped his feet and cursed aloud.

"I don't know either. By all rights, the Alliance President ought to be standing up for Dingcheng Academy—after all, with a scandal this big, Dingcheng Academy could never let it go. Their standing in the Yellow-rank Academy Alliance is very high; the Alliance President couldn't possibly refuse them face, could he?" Su Kesheng wore a face full of gloom.

"Surely Wei Zhao's face alone can't count for more than Dingcheng Academy's?" Bao Zuoliang startled himself with his own words.

"It's possible... it really might be possible..." Su Kesheng suddenly recalled Wei Zhao's legendary identity as a Profound-rank alchemist, and at once felt this must be the truth. Apart from that, there was no other explanation.

"Damn it all! The brat's slipped through again!" Bao Zuoliang smashed his fist down in frustration and could only retreat to his room, full of resentment, to drown his sorrows in drink. If he did not quickly numb himself with wine, he truly feared that in a moment of rashness he might do something in front of the Alliance President—and then the joke would be on him in earnest.

The party arrived at the reception hall and took their seats, exchanging pleasantries for quite some time, until at last Wei Zhao had no choice but to take the seat of honor. Plainly speaking, Zhuang Yifan had come for his sake—if he did not take the seat of honor, was Li Ren to take it? Li Ren would sooner die than presume to fill that role.

"In all my years, the top-tier geniuses I've encountered number no fewer than eighty, if not a hundred, yet one as astonishing as Master Lin—this is the first I've seen. North Island truly is a place that produces great figures," Zhuang Yifan said in flattering praise the moment he sat down.

"President Zhuang flatters me," Wei Zhao said with a faint smile, making no particular effort to contradict him. After all, he could hardly say that North Island was a wretched backwater of feeble strength, could he?

Besides, having already claimed to be the disciple of Shangguan Tianxia and Zhang Lifeng, and to be a first-grade Profound-rank alchemist, he naturally had to carry this pose through to the end—he could not give it up halfway. Otherwise, if Zhuang Yifan grew suspicious, that would be trouble.

"Heh heh, Master Lin is far too modest. Forgive me for asking, but has Master Lin come to the Eastern Continent this time intending to settle down for good, or merely to take part in the Path of Giants and make your breakthrough to the Profound Ascension stage? If you are inclined to settle here, I happen to be on good terms with the heads of several Profound-rank academies. A word from me, and I'm sure they would stop at nothing to come snatch you up. What does Master Lin think?" Zhuang Yifan offered eagerly.

This proposal made everyone present light up at once. For the vast majority of academy disciples, the very next thing to consider after breaking through to the Profound Ascension stage was how to enter a higher-tier Profound-rank academy.

Not just any Profound Ascension expert could join a Profound-rank academy; the difficulty was in fact immense—even greater than when they had once battered down the gates to get into a Yellow-rank academy.

The reason was simple: though Profound Ascension experts were far fewer in number than Nascent Soul experts, the cultivation resources that could actually benefit a Profound Ascension expert were fewer still, and the competition all the fiercer. The disciple quotas of Profound-rank academies were therefore all the more precious.

If one had such ambitions, Wei Zhao's heaven-defying talent and strength meant he need hardly worry about finding a Profound-rank academy to take him—but his standing after entering could not be guaranteed. If he were merely an ordinary disciple rather than a core disciple, that would be a raw deal.

If, however, Zhuang Yifan personally made the introduction, things would be altogether different. A core disciple's identity would be absolutely assured—far better than rashly going off on his own to sit the Profound-rank academy selections.

"I appreciate President Zhuang's kindness, but for the time being I have no plans to linger in the Eastern Continent. The matter of the Profound-rank academies can wait for another day," Wei Zhao declined without the slightest hesitation.

It was not that he deliberately meant to refuse the other's favor—he simply had no such plans. It was the same as his original reluctance to come to the Eastern Continent and join a Yellow-rank academy: a man like him was destined to improve fastest only by constantly tempering himself out in the wider world. Joining a Profound-rank academy would only constrain him; better to make his own way outside.

"I see. Then we shall leave it for another day. Should Master Lin ever have need, you may come to me at any time to make connections—arrangements that leave both sides pleased are something I am only too glad to make," Zhuang Yifan said. Though somewhat disappointed, Wei Zhao's choice was hardly surprising; after all, it was truly hard to find masters finer than Shangguan Tianxia and the Alchemy God Zhang Lifeng anywhere in the world. Even a Profound-rank academy could not assemble such a lavish lineup.