Chapter 4971 — I Won't Keep You Waiting Too Long

"Qing Xuanzi, I'll be leaving the Eastern Continent before long, so there is a matter I need to entrust to you," Wei Zhao said.

Qing Xuanzi was hardly surprised. In his eyes, a mere Yellow-Rank academy—not even a Mystic-Rank one—could never hope to contain a figure as great as Wei Zhao. A man of Wei Zhao's stature was bound to be like the divine alchemist Zhang Lifeng: a dragon seen here by its head and there by its tail, never revealing more than a glimpse of the whole. That was the true bearing of a master.

"Master, you mean the business with the Hong Merchant Guild, don't you? You needn't worry about that—your disciple will cooperate fully with Steward Chai. Of that at least I can assure you: where high-grade pills are concerned in Morning Star City, I guarantee no one will outshine him! This disciple has it firmly under control. Even before Master's guidance I stood as chief alchemist—how much more so now?"

"Good. I'll leave that to you, then." Wei Zhao smiled and went on. "But it's not that I wanted to discuss. There's another matter I should give you a heads-up about. I have a friend over here, Qin Chan. She has suffered bullying in the past, and she has no background or backing to speak of, so I'd like you to keep an eye out for her, just a little."

"Your disciple obeys!" Qing Xuanzi agreed without a second thought. Then, after turning it over, he added, "Then shall I go and warn Zheng Dongyang about it?"

After all, they were both clever men. Wei Zhao might not have said it outright, but one guess was enough: the bullying of Qin Chan must have had something to do with Zheng Dongyang—otherwise, Wei Zhao would never have phrased it that way.

"No need. Just look after her a little; don't let yourself be distracted with unnecessary things. Striving hard to break through to Mystic-Rank alchemist is what matters." Wei Zhao waved a hand, then added, "Qin Chan is already at the early Profound Rising stage. She won't be staying at Morning Star Academy much longer either, and she has Xinyan and Xiaotao beside her to help. All you need do is let the word spread, and I doubt there'll be any trouble."

"Yes, your disciple understands." Qing Xuanzi nodded again and again.

With matters settled on Qing Xuanzi's end, Wei Zhao's next step was to take his leave of the three overlords of Morning Star.

Ling Yuanqing and the others, naturally enough, pressed him to stay, but they also knew that Wei Zhao had drawn the eye of Chang Minghui. It was indeed inconvenient for him to linger long. So none of them insisted on keeping him, only urging him to visit Morning Star Academy often whenever he had the time—he was, after all, its honorary director, no matter how one looked at it.

Beyond that, Ling Yuanqing had made a point of giving Wei Zhao no small benefit—a quota for academy disciples! According to him, as honorary director, Wei Zhao was entitled to recommend disciples to Morning Star Academy directly!

To the academy, this was an authority of enormous weight. Outside, people went to absurd lengths, battering their heads against the wall, for a single quota as a disciple of an Eastern Continent academy, and Wei Zhao had seen for himself the frenzied scene when Morning Star Academy held its disciple selections. Ling Yuanqing giving him this power meant that from then on he could, with the greatest of ease, send people into Morning Star Academy!

Of course, the number of quotas that would actually end up in Wei Zhao's hands was certainly very limited, and even disciples he recommended would still have to pass a final round of review by the three overlords of Morning Star. Obviously, every stray cat and stray dog could not simply slip in and waste cultivation resources.

But given Wei Zhao's relationship with the three overlords, so long as a person's aptitude was not too poor, the three would surely not make trouble over anyone he recommended in person. It was essentially as good as his word alone deciding the matter.

Wei Zhao accepted this without the least hesitation, and gladly. It amounted to paving a ready-made path of advancement for the younger followers under his wing. Even if he considered nothing but the future of his miserable senior brother and the others, he had no reason to refuse.

After taking leave of the three overlords of Morning Star, Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao accompanied Wei Zhao to the Hong Merchant Guild. There was nothing in particular that needed to be said, but Chai Laoshi was, after all, one of his own. Naturally, he had to bid the man farewell before leaving.

Chai Laoshi, without question, went through another round of pledges of loyalty. With Wei Zhao's stunning performance at the Morning Star Auction Gala and his newly struck partnership with Qing Xuanzi, he had by now established himself completely in Morning Star City. Within the Hong Merchant Guild he had become a veritable lord in his own right, his power and standing not to be underestimated. In the past he had had no say in things, but now he was fully qualified to wave the banner and beat the drum for Hong Zhong.

If in the future he cultivated a few more subordinates like himself, then the day when Vice Guild Master Hong Zhong marched into the Central Isle headquarters in force would not be far off.

Coming out of the Hong Merchant Guild, Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao followed Wei Zhao all the way to the city gate. Only after repeated urgings from Wei Zhao did the two women finally halt, reluctant to part.

"I'm off now. The two of you take good care of yourselves. If the chance comes, go find Huo Yudie at Morning Pride Academy. The three of you will be heading to the Mystic-Rank Sea together before long—you must support one another and advance and retreat as one," Wei Zhao instructed.

"Don't worry, you don't need to tell us that—we know it already. Oh, right—when the time comes, shall we bring along that Western Isle princess of yours, Ning Xuefei, too?" Wang Xinyan said, watching Wei Zhao with a half-smile.

Wei Zhao rubbed his nose awkwardly. Speaking of this matter, he felt somewhat guilty at heart. After all, so many beautiful women had followed him without complaint or regret, and never once had he given any of them a proper status. Now, instead, he had gone and gotten engaged to Ning Xuefei first, which was truly rather unfair to Wang Xinyan and the others.

But urgent times called for expedient measures; in that situation he had had no other choice. For this, he could only think up a way in the future to make it up to them properly.

"Feifei's cultivation is too low—she can't go to the Mystic-Rank Sea for the time being. Still, it would be good for you to meet one another beforehand," Wei Zhao said, his old face flushing red.

"We know, we know." Seeing that expression on him, Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao could not help exchanging a smile.

"All right, the two of you head back. We'll meet again before long—I'll come back," Wei Zhao promised.

Though this departure from the Eastern Continent had been part of the plan, it was somewhat hurried on account of Chang Minghui. Still, one could foresee that he would inevitably return to the Eastern Continent. The other Cloud-Rank isles were far behind on average strength, after all, and for an expert at the early Profound Rising stage to improve quickly was no easy thing. Only the Eastern Continent, where experts gathered like clouds, was the ideal place for honing oneself.

"Mm-hmm, you said it yourself, so you can't keep us waiting too long!" Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao wrinkled their noses in unison, their eyes reddening at the rims. Partings are always sorrowful—and this time, once they separated from Wei Zhao, who knew when the next meeting would be?

"I won't keep you waiting too long. I promise." Wei Zhao nodded and said softly. He gave Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao a gentle embrace, and only then turned and walked away under the gaze of the two women.