Chapter 4817 — The Western Mountain Master
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
In the past, with his current late Nascent Soul strength, Wei Zhao might not truly have taken a late-stage Xuan Ascension expert seriously. Habit became second nature; once you had killed enough Xuan Ascension experts, you naturally stopped thinking much of them. But Leng Rufeng's appearance had completely overturned that understanding.
There is always a higher heaven above, and beyond a man there is always another man. Xuan Ascension experts were not cabbages, after all. Even if his present strength could instantly slay an ordinary Xuan Ascension expert, should he run into a truly formidable one, the consequences were hard to predict.
After all, a mere early-stage Xuan Ascension expert like Leng Rufeng had already been able to press him hard in battle. Should he truly encounter a troublesome late-stage Xuan Ascension expert, even Wei Zhao would have no choice but to be hunted down.
"A late-stage Xuan Ascension expert—well, that depends on who it is. If it were Leng Rufeng at the late Xuan Ascension stage, I'd certainly advise you to turn tail and run. But this piece of trash heretic cultivator? He's about on the level of Leng Rufeng after you wore him down for five straight days. Don't tell me you can't even kill something like that?" The ghostly thing curled its lip.
"Is that so? Then that's wonderful. I was just worrying that I had no one to spar with—this one has come at just the right time!" Wei Zhao brightened at once.
Ever since that half month of fighting Leng Rufeng had advanced him two levels in a row, he had acquired a taste for it. Whenever he had nothing to do, he wanted to seek Leng Rufeng out for a bout, and just before setting out this time he had deliberately sparred with him several more times. Unfortunately, though Leng Rufeng had recovered his condition, he clearly no longer dared to go all out.
The man set great store by rank and station. Facing Wei Zhao, his leader, he simply did not dare fight freely. What if he lost control for a moment and wounded Wei Zhao badly—or even killed him outright?
Wei Zhao argued and cajoled at length, but Leng Rufeng simply could not loosen up. Their several bouts could only ever stop short of real force, leaving Wei Zhao thoroughly bored and not in the least satisfied. But now things were fine: here was a late-stage Xuan Ascension expert delivered right to his door, and this heretic cultivator was neither too strong nor too weak—just right as a sparring partner.
Having locked onto the Western Mountain Master's position, Wei Zhao did not act rashly. He waited until the middle of the night, then suddenly slipped away without a sound. Against anyone else, nine times out of ten he would not have been noticed; but the Western Mountain Master sensed it at once.
To pave his road to advancement with Wei Zhao's head, the Western Mountain Master had truly applied himself this time. He had kept track of Wei Zhao's position almost every moment, waiting for the final chance to strike—and now at last it had come.
A sinister smile flickered across the Western Mountain Master's face as he gave chase. After that inexplicable two days of circling about town, even a fool would know Wei Zhao had sensed something amiss. And yet the boy actually thought he could slip away under his very nose in the dark—naive beyond all cure.
Fixing his lock on Wei Zhao's aura from afar, the Western Mountain Master was in no hurry to strike. Even though it was night, to be safe he had to wait until they were out of the academy's sphere of influence. Haste makes waste; he must not startle the snake and ruin the whole affair.
Wei Zhao was still traveling by Super Butterfly Microstep. That speed was already extraordinary, and under the cover of night he was as good as a ghost—the ordinary eye could not even follow him, let alone keep a distant tail on him.