Chapter 3683 — So What?
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
"I've done the figuring. This way, at least two of the three of us are guaranteed a place in the top three—meaning two Foundation Establishment Pills are no problem, and one each for the two of you will be plenty," Wei Zhao said with a smile. He himself was already an expert at the early Foundation Establishment stage, so a Foundation Establishment Pill was naturally of no use to him.
Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai stood dumbstruck for a good while, staring at the jaw-dropping eighteen hundred points on Wei Zhao's back basket, before the meaning of his words finally sank in. Not knowing what to say, they could only nod blankly.
The three of them's final scores: Wei Zhao eighteen hundred, Xiao Che a thousand, Qiao Hongcai five hundred. With every other newcomer already stripped of a hundred points—and even allowing for the two unknowns, Meng Zhou and Li Zhengming—by any normal reckoning, such results locked in two of the top three beyond all doubt. As for Qiao Hongcai, though he could not break into the top three, he was certain to place in the top five and would fare no worse than that.
As Wei Zhao had intended, the two of them divided the spirit herbs between them, and could not help turning back to ask, "Leader Wei Zhao, when exactly did you break through to become an early Foundation Establishment expert? Why didn't we see the slightest sign of it?"
I broke through back in the mortal world—if you two could have spotted the signs, that would be the real miracle!
"It was only recently," Wei Zhao had no choice but to answer vaguely.
Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai exchanged glances, their eyes instantly filling with even deeper admiration. Then they pointed at the astonishing score on Wei Zhao's back basket and asked curiously, "Then what's the story with these eighteen hundred points? Leader Wei Zhao, you didn't run into some peerless spirit herb, did you—one worth a thousand points all by itself?"
It was an entirely natural guess. By the average standard of five hundred, reaching eight hundred already counted as a rare stroke of luck, and as for eighteen hundred—short of a thousand points falling out of the sky and landing in his lap, they simply could not conceive of a more reasonable explanation.
"You both already know I'm an alchemist. Is it so strange that I'd have a few little tricks when it comes to gathering spirit herbs?" Wei Zhao gave a noncommittal chuckle. Even though the two of them were his underlings, the secret of the Heavenly Thunder Pig concerned the jade pendant's space and could not be casually spoken aloud.
"Er, I suppose that's true." Xiao Che had heard tales of Wei Zhao back in the mortal world, and Qiao Hongcai had once heard a word or two from that miserable senior brother of his; both knew he was an alchemist.
As an alchemist, having one's own unique methods and insights when it came to gathering spirit herbs was the most natural thing in the world. By comparison, they themselves were laymen, and could only stand in awe of what they did not understand.
Seeing that time was nearly up, the three of them delayed no longer and followed the map straight back to the Rear Mountain Hall. By now the other newcomers had all returned ahead of them; apart from the three of them, only Meng Zhou and Li Zhengming had yet to arrive.
A short while later, as noon approached, Meng Zhou and Li Zhengming finally came sauntering in, late to the last.
On seeing the three of them, Meng Zhou still felt a lingering dread, but on an occasion like this, even Wei Zhao would not dare lay a hand on him, so he grew bold and swaggering, and proclaimed smugly, "So you're the newcomer who puts on such airs! This time the first place is mine for the taking. So what if you reached Foundation Establishment ahead of me? You still can't outdo me!" RS