Chapter 3969 — Brotherly Friendship
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Meng Jueming was dead, but the powerful enemies above him—Xu Lingchong and the rest—remained. If they ever learned that Li Zhengming had been an inside man from first to last, he would inevitably be thrust into the teeth of the storm, becoming a thorn in the side and a nail in the eye that Xu Lingchong and his circle would want removed at the first opportunity. His situation would become very dire indeed.
Li Zhengming understood this perfectly and bore no resentment. On the contrary, he was secretly grateful for Wei Zhao's consideration—after all, it also suited his own long-standing preference for keeping a low profile.
Still, keeping a low profile did not mean he truly had nothing to do. Only the strong can afford to keep a low profile; without strength, that is not low profile but cowardice, and anyone and everyone will come trample on you and bully you, bringing no end of trouble. So Li Zhengming knew very well that if he wished to keep a low profile, he had to display his strength at the proper moment and overawe those around him.
Qiao Hongcai, universally acknowledged as the foremost fierce warrior under Wei Zhao's command, was exactly the right opponent for Li Zhengming, who meant to establish his authority.
In this battle, according to the challenge rules of the Yingxin Pavilion, neither side used weapons, nor did they let their spirit pets assist. It was a pure clash of hard strength.
Originally Wei Zhao had expected the two to be evenly matched, and that if they truly went all out and fought to the death, it would likely end in mutual injury. He had even prepared himself to step in and stop them at the first sign of trouble.
In fact, at the beginning things went just as Wei Zhao had predicted: across several exchanges, Qiao Hongcai and Li Zhengming were evenly matched, neither gaining the upper hand. Their duel was so brilliant and fierce that even Wei Zhao, a skilled cultivator of the mid Foundation Establishment stage, watched and marveled without end.
The innate combat talent of these two destined them never to be mediocrities. When the moment came, they would shine forth like gold sifted from the sand, revealing their towering brilliance.
Wei Zhao had long known that Li Zhengming had successfully established his Foundation, so he was not surprised. But the others present had never witnessed Li Zhengming's true strength. They had even assumed all along that Li Zhengming was merely a cultivator at the peak of the Heaven Rank, utterly unable to withstand a single blow from Qiao Hongcai!
They had never imagined that this fellow Li Zhengming, without a word, had already reached such a level of strength that he could trade blow for blow with a fierce warrior like Qiao Hongcai, locked in a struggle impossible to separate.
Yet this deadlock did not last long. The crowd soon realized they had misjudged him once again: Li Zhengming's strength was not merely on par with Qiao Hongcai's—he was in fact a formidable existence that stood above Qiao Hongcai!
After the time it took to burn a stick of incense, Li Zhengming settled the battle without the slightest warning, using a consummately exquisite Frostfall Fist just as Qiao Hongcai's Iron Cold Palm ran out of momentum.
"Striking only after the enemy moves, with perfect timing—beautifully done!" Wei Zhao praised him sincerely, then took the lead in applauding. Right after him, the Long-suffering Senior Brother, Xiao Che, and the others all clapped appreciatively as well.
Even Qiao Hongcai himself unconsciously joined in the applause. He had lost today, and he conceded with complete sincerity.
"Li Zhengming, you really are strong. Wasting yourself all these years under a despicable bird of a man like Meng Jueming was a pearl cast into darkness. From today on, no matter what the others in the chapter think, I, Qiao Hongcai, count you as a brother!" Qiao Hongcai spoke from the bottom of his heart.