Chapter 4489 — The Biggest Loser
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
Cheng Haonan was still at it. From the moment he had defeated Wei Zhao that afternoon, the entire Southern Continent Escort Gathering had become his one-man show. There was nothing anyone else could do about it but sit below and watch the spectacle. What choice did they have? The right to challenge had been held firmly in Cheng Haonan's grip the whole time.
"Oh? The man actually resorts to this trick?" Watching Cheng Haonan's movements on the platform, Wei Zhao's lips curved into a faint, amused smile.
"Stalling for time? That's just shameless..." Qi Wenmo had caught on to Cheng Haonan's intent as well, and clicked his tongue in disbelief.
Nor was it only the two of them—the whole crowd was buzzing with discussion. Cheng Haonan had clearly and deliberately slowed the rhythm of his attack and defense. To conserve as much strength as possible while dragging out the time, he had adopted a passive strategy of pure defense, never attacking. For a formidable figure who had been so overbearingly domineering before to be forced into such a despicable tactic—it truly left one sighing and speechless.
Never mind that Cheng Haonan now seemed short on true qi, his strength ebbing; his formidable power still stood there plain as day. If he truly set his mind on a purely passive, evasive fight, then to say nothing of ordinary Golden Core experts, even something like Qi Wenmo—hailed as the "Little Invincible of the Golden Core"—would hardly be sure to gain any advantage going up against him.
Unless the opponent were swapped for Wei Zhao, that might just do it—only that was impossible. Cheng Haonan had kept the right to challenge clamped in his fist all along, and his greatest worry was surely that the Skysupport Escort Agency would obtain that right. To him, that would be a true disaster.
Fight passively, and then, just as the stick of incense was nearly burned out, suddenly erupt and knock the opponent off the platform—Cheng Haonan's use of true qi was now stingy to the point of outrage, every thread measured and calculated, absolutely none wasted.
After all, for him, whether he could withdraw safely today depended entirely on whether this delaying tactic succeeded. Should it fail, the consequences were unthinkable.
Such a duel was utterly devoid of spectacle. The spectators below yawned one after another; had the assembly not strictly forbidden interfering with the course of the matches, they would surely have been throwing things at the platform by now. What the hell was this supposed to be!
Time trickled away drop by drop, and Cheng Haonan's stalling tactic finally dragged on to the very end. The hour of Hai had arrived, and every eye turned of its own accord to the panel of judges. They truly could not endure this soporific, pointless match a moment longer.
As chief judge of this year's assembly, Hai Wuliang's face had gone utterly dark, as if water could be wrung from it. He ground his teeth, longing to slap Cheng Haonan on that platform into a paste of minced meat!
By his original plan, he had intended to pull some strings at the second drawing of lots, seize the right to challenge for his own Four Seas Escort Agency, and step forward to challenge others for a few points. That way, even if things did not go according to the ideal plan, at least his agency could save a little face.
But now—thanks to Cheng Haonan's despicable stalling tactic, the man had single-handedly dragged things all the way to the hour of Hai. Where was there any time left now?
Looking at Cheng Haonan, exhausted and on the verge of burning out entirely, Hai Wuliang was half inclined to stretch the time a little further. After all, the assembly had only said it would end at the hour of Hai—it had not said whether that meant the beginning or the end of the hour.