Chapter 2800 — We Shall See at the Trial

Wei Zhao always had an inexplicable feeling about Yang Qiqi. Although the girl often repaid kindness with enmity, he had, after all, seen her body back then—an undeniable fact—so his feelings toward her were complicated. He did not want anything to happen to her, yet he could never truly open his heart to her.

Yang Qiqi wolfed down her breakfast; she was truly famished. The night before, she had practiced the Butterfly Microstep in her room until midnight without the slightest progress, and as a result she had overslept, with nowhere to find food in the morning—so naturally she ate very quickly now.

"When does the trial begin?" Having finished his breakfast and now merely waiting for Yang Qiqi, Wei Zhao struck up a conversation with Feng Shihua and the others.

"Tonight is the registration and payment period for the trial; tomorrow morning, the trial officially begins," Feng Shihua said. "Eh, Brother Lin, do you know nothing at all about the trial?"

"Nothing. I told you, I am a loose cultivator," Wei Zhao said.

"Could you be a loose cultivator from the mundane world?" Ge Xian was somewhat surprised. Loose cultivators came in several kinds; a man like him, though called a loose cultivator, in essence drifted between the ancient and hidden planes, relying on his own abilities to secure some benefits and cultivation resources—and such people were quite well informed about ancient affairs. Yet Wei Zhao professed complete ignorance, which plainly marked him as a loose cultivator from the mundane world.

Otherwise, by one's own strength alone, to set foot in the Earth Rank—let alone that, even to set foot in the Profound Rank—would be difficult. This was also why high-level cultivators were so rare in the mundane world.

"Loose cultivators are also divided into mundane and non-mundane?" Wei Zhao was taken aback.

"Naturally. I am called a loose cultivator, but in truth I am registered with both the ancient plane and the hidden plane. I have my own means of livelihood, and nominally I am bound by the rules of the ancient and hidden planes; but by the same token, the benefits I gain are considerable. For instance, I enjoy treatment roughly equal to that of the ancient sects and hidden clans. Anything they can take part in, I can take part in as well," Ge Xian said.

"Then the difference is not so great." Wei Zhao smiled and turned to Yang Qiqi. "Yang Qiqi, then what kind of loose cultivator are you?"

"I am actually an overseas cultivator. All overseas cultivators receive invitations to certain events as well. Some of the overseas cultivators spontaneously established an Overseas Cultivators Association. Whenever something comes up on this side, an invitation is sent to the Overseas Cultivators Association," Yang Qiqi said.

"Oh..." Wei Zhao nodded, not particularly surprised, for the pattern on the ring on Yang Qiqi's hand was very familiar to him—it came from an overseas assassins' organization.

Feng Shihua, Ge Xian, and Li Ciba, however, were astonished; they had not expected Yang Qiqi to come from overseas.

"Are there many overseas cultivators?" Ge Xian's occupational habit made him fond of probing.

"Quite a few. But some have not joined the Overseas Cultivators Association—after all, the association is a voluntary organization, not compulsory," Yang Qiqi explained. "There may not be as many as the cultivators here, but the cultivators of the entire Overseas Cultivators Association, added together, amount to the strength of one ancient sect!"

"I see. No wonder you receive invitations too!" Ge Xian said in sudden understanding. "But are you the only one from your side attending the trial?"

"Yes. Overseas cultivators are not especially keen on trials and the like; there are more external cultivators over there. The rewards for trials here hold little allure for them," Yang Qiqi said.

"So that is how it is." Ge Xian nodded. "I never imagined before that there were so many cultivators overseas as well."

As the few of them were talking, the dining hall's doors were suddenly pushed open and two people entered. At that moment, however, many cultivators at the tables who had been talking loudly fell silent all at once, and the others, prompted by those beside them, closed their mouths as well.

The newcomers were none other than Zhang Naipao and Mo Ba!

Ordinary ancient sects truly did not wish to provoke people from the Tomorrow After Tomorrow sect, especially now that Zhang Naipao was rumored to be something almost divine—no one knew what devilish heart method or oral formula he had cultivated, but the disciples of the Divine Fist Hall had all been crippled. What other ancient sect disciple would dare provoke him at will?

Before the situation was clear, who would dare make trouble? So at this moment, all of them, remarkably, kept silent at the same time.

But the most astonished person was none other than Wei Zhao. Others could not tell, but Wei Zhao saw it perfectly clearly: the day before, Zhang Naipao had been a top expert at the peak of the late Earth Rank, and this very morning he had become an expert at the early Heaven Rank! Was this rate of advancement not a little too fast?

Previously Wei Zhao had still felt some confidence, for he wore a mid-grade Golden Cicada undergarment that could defend against any attack from an Earth Rank expert. And Zhang Naipao, however formidable, however capable of fighting above his rank, was still an Earth Rank expert; wearing the Golden Cicada undergarment Zhong Yongliang had sent him, Wei Zhao had nothing to fear from Zhang Naipao.

But in the blink of an eye, after a night's sleep, Zhang Naipao had actually broken through and advanced. This gave Wei Zhao a sense of frustration that was both laughable and crying.

During the Ice Palace trial, Zhang Naipao had advanced, but what had kept Wei Zhao's equilibrium was that during the Ice Palace trial he himself had advanced as well. Yet in the Xuandan Sect trial, Wei Zhao had found no opportunity to advance at all; he had only just reached the late Earth Rank and had not even attained the state of late Earth Rank great perfection—he had not touched the slightest barrier to the peak of the late Earth Rank, which left Wei Zhao somewhat vexed.

"Haha, isn't this Wei Zhao? Last time at the Ice Palace trial, you and I both broke through—but this time, you seem to be slipping a bit, eh?" Zhang Naipao spotted Wei Zhao at a glance, strode over, and said with a mocking look at Wei Zhao.

Wei Zhao's expression shifted slightly. Zhang Naipao was rubbing salt in the wound, but Wei Zhao had no way to respond; he only said coldly, "Early Heaven Rank, is it... Your subordinate Mo Jiu was at mid Heaven Rank, was he not? I wonder how he is doing now?"

"You—" Zhang Naipao had come intending to provoke Wei Zhao, but he had not expected that a single sentence from Wei Zhao would choke him so thoroughly that he could not refute it. He could only say in frustration, "Hmph, talk is useless. We shall see the truth at the trial!"

"Oh..." Wei Zhao responded faintly, lukewarm, and this contemptuous tone nearly drove Zhang Naipao mad. He had broken through and wanted to needle Wei Zhao, but Wei Zhao was not provoked—Zhang Naipao himself was furious.

However, his Heaven Rank martial technique was not yet fully mastered, and he could not be bothered to argue with Wei Zhao. He intended to teach Wei Zhao a good lesson during the trial, so he turned and prepared to leave with Mo Ba. (To be continued.)