Chapter 3681 — Shocked and Stunned

Even if Wei Zhao could fight, could he really take on twelve experts of his own level single-handedly? What nonsense!

Wei Zhao glanced at him, his expression half-smiling. "Well, today you're seeing it. Though as for who the real fool is—that's hard to say."

"Hmph. A dead duck's beak stays stiff. We'll see you cry soon enough!"

Meng Zhou sneered, then turned to the newcomers. "I don't suppose I need to spell out for you how we deal with this fool who's delivered himself to our doorstep! Once we've taken him—and every last spirit herb on him—not just the top three but the top ten will be ours for the taking! Let me put it plainly: from here on, whoever performs well, I personally guarantee a spot in the top three. The Foundation Establishment Pill will be within reach!"

At those words, every newcomer's eyes lit up.

Had Wei Zhao not walked right into their hands, then apart from Meng Zhou—who was a lock for first place in the trial—the remaining two top-three spots might well have been robbed by Wei Zhao. The man's strength was not to be taken lightly, and having suffered no interference, he had ample time to gather spirit herbs and rack up points!

On top of that, among the newcomers there was Li Zhengming, a formidable rival. For the others, even dreaming of a top-three finish and the Foundation Establishment Pill was a tall order.

But now that fool Wei Zhao had actually come to them of his own accord, everything was different. With Meng Zhou's promise in hand, all they had to do was fight hard when they ganged up on him—and the top three were in sight!

Looking at the eager, restless newcomers, Wei Zhao cast Meng Zhou a faintly surprised glance. So this one wasn't entirely stupid after all. He'd sensed danger and promptly and decisively backed down, and now with a few words he'd whipped up the newcomers' fighting spirit. Quite a talent, really.

"Fists and feet have no eyes," Meng Zhou said with a meaningful tone. "If we all gang up and accidentally kill this show-off newcomer, surely the elders of the Rear Mountain Hall won't blame us."

With that, the final shackles fell away from the newcomers who had still harbored some misgivings. For the sake of a top-three spot and the Foundation Establishment Pill, they would fight with all their might—even if it meant twelve against one.

Meng Zhou smiled in satisfaction. A full-out assault by twelve experts at the peak of the Heaven Rank—not to mention Wei Zhao, even the strongest peak Heaven Rank expert in history could never survive!

And the key was this: because of those two burdens, Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai, and out of some laughable sense of honor, Wei Zhao could not even flee!

Today was the day Wei Zhao died!

Wei Zhao slowly swept his gaze over the crowd, watching them close in with predatory eyes, and showed not a hint of the fear they had expected. Instead, a mocking smile played at his lips. "Tell me—do you all even know who your opponent is?"

"Ha? Isn't he just some bumpkin from the secular world? He's at death's door, and this show-off newcomer still wants to spout big words to shake our resolve? Hahaha!" Meng Zhou laughed wildly, and the other newcomers were unmoved. In their eyes, Wei Zhao was no threat at all—just a heaping pile of points.

"Seems you've all been blinded by your own eyes. What a pitiful bunch," Wei Zhao sneered. Then his expression turned grave, and a mighty aura surged out of him without the slightest restraint.

In an instant, everyone on the field paled, and every gaze fixed on Wei Zhao was filled with disbelief and dread!

An aura this powerful—almost materialized—was not something a Heaven Rank expert could possess. Even a peak Heaven Rank expert fell far short. This could only belong to something a level higher: an expert of the Foundation Establishment Stage!

"My God! When did this bastard become an early Foundation Establishment expert?" Meng Zhou's heart convulsed. Spending every day around Meng Jueming, he knew exactly what level such an aura signified. If one's strength hadn't reached that level, it couldn't be faked—not even for show!

It wasn't just him. Li Zhengming and the other newcomers, in their fright, had unconsciously retreated several steps, exchanging stunned looks of incredulity.

Twelve of them besieging a peak Heaven Rank expert was a sure thing. But against an early Foundation Establishment expert—especially one as formidable as Wei Zhao—the situation was entirely different.

Early Foundation Establishment and peak Heaven Rank might seem separated by only a hair's breadth, yet they were two completely different realms—one in the heavens, the other beneath the earth.

In the eyes of the cultivation world, an early Foundation Establishment expert had already begun to glimpse the way in, while a peak Heaven Rank expert, however impressive it sounded, was still at bottom only a prospective cultivator. The minimum admission standard for the vast majority of genuine sects on Cloud Rank Island was early Foundation Establishment or above. As for so-called peak Heaven Rank experts, they could not even be bothered to spare them a glance.

If, below the Heaven Rank, there was still such a thing as challenging above one's level, then between peak Heaven Rank and early Foundation Establishment such a possibility simply did not exist. Put simply, even the weakest early Foundation Establishment expert could utterly crush the strongest peak Heaven Rank expert in history.

Between the two lay a difference in kind.

Even with their overwhelming numbers—twelve peak Heaven Rank experts—facing a single early Foundation Establishment expert, they could not claim any chance of victory. Even if everyone present fought Wei Zhao to the death like madmen, their odds would be less than ten percent.

And even if they won in the end, it would at best be a pyrrhic victory. Of the twelve, at least ten would likely have to be left dead on the field for that to happen!

In truth, these people were bound to Meng Jueming and Meng Zhou purely by self-interest. When there was profit to be had, they might work together; but in a situation as obviously suicidal as this, there was no way they would sell their lives for Meng Zhou for nothing.

So even that theoretical less-than-ten-percent chance of victory was beyond this lot.

Not only the other newcomers—even Meng Zhou himself, their leader, was now thoroughly frightened out of his wits by Wei Zhao. Only one thought remained in his head: how had this idiot, who couldn't even tell good jade from bad, suddenly transformed into an early Foundation Establishment expert?

Meng Zhou and his gang were all struck dumb with shock. And behind Wei Zhao, Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai stood gaping, exchanging looks of utter bewilderment, completely at a loss for words.

The other newcomers had had little contact with Wei Zhao, so it was understandable they hadn't known his current strength—but these two were truly part of Wei Zhao's crew. They had spent no small amount of time with him these past days, and from beginning to end they had never noticed anything out of the ordinary!