Chapter 3696 — Li Zhengming Switching Sides

Damn it—how could he just die here for no good reason? Li Zhengming's eyes flickered, blood trickling ceaselessly from the corner of his mouth, his whole appearance wretched and pitiful.

As a grassroots newcomer with no backing whatsoever, he had thrown in his lot with Meng Jueming the moment he joined the Welcoming Pavilion—a choice forced upon him by sheer necessity. He might not have thought much of Meng Jueming's character, but at least among the Welcoming Pavilion newcomers, that was the thickest and most realistic leg to cling to, bar none.

To achieve the goal he had long suppressed at the bottom of his heart, he had to raise his strength as quickly as possible, and to do that, he needed vast quantities of cultivation resources. As a Welcoming Pavilion newcomer, he had no option but to attach himself to a senior steward brother as powerful as Meng Jueming.

And indeed, that was exactly how it played out. After decisively siding with Meng Jueming, Li Zhengming had tasted no small amount of sweetness—whether it was Cave Dwelling No. 2 at the foot of the mountain, or his later assignment to Mining District No. 7, both were treatment that filled the other Welcoming Pavilion newcomers with boundless envy.

Yet what left him—and in fact every Welcoming Pavilion newcomer—jaw-dropping was that this seemingly beautiful arrangement, whenever it ran up against Wei Zhao, invariably veered off in an unexpected direction—or to put it precisely, an unscientific one.

And now, Li Zhengming had finally grasped the root of this unscientific state of affairs. As a newcomer who had entered the Welcoming Pavilion a mere month ago, Wei Zhao was already a peak early-stage Foundation Establishment expert, standing on equal footing with veterans like Meng Jueming. If that could still be called scientific, then one might as well start seeing ghosts!

Nothing in this world ever came without a price. Being a lackey had its perks, but it came with its hardships too. As one of the most devoted claws who had sided with Meng Jueming right after Meng Zhou, whenever a crisis arose, Li Zhengming would naturally become the cannon fodder of first choice—there was simply no shaking it off.

And since he was cannon fodder, he had to have the awareness of cannon fodder. Mudding through once or twice was luck, but there was no way fortune would favor him every single time. Just as now: Li Zhengming knew full well that he had kicked an iron plate. If he did not make a choice now, he might very well end up dead here!

This time, Meng Jueming and Meng Zhou and that whole pack of idiots had landed him in deep shit!

Wei Zhao looked down from his commanding height, coldly regarding the bedraggled Li Zhengming, and said expressionlessly, "Since you dared to launch a sneak attack on me, I imagine you must have prepared yourself for the consequences. I can tell you're not cut from the same cloth as Meng Jueming's pack of fools, but unfortunately, doing wrong means paying the price."

At these words, Li Zhengming's heart gave a violent lurch, for he could distinctly feel the killing intent radiating from the other man grow stronger. A single thought seized him and set every hair on his body standing on end: Wei Zhao meant it. He genuinely intended to kill him!

Seeing that Wei Zhao was about to act, Li Zhengming dropped to his knees with a thud and hastily said, "Leader Wei Zhao, spare me! I had no choice—it was Meng Jueming and the others who forced me to sound you out!"

At this sight, Wei Zhao could not help raising his eyebrows in some surprise.

By his earlier impressions, Li Zhengming was not the sort of spineless creature to do this. Had it been Meng Zhou doing so, he would have found it easier to accept—that one was clearly a bully who feared the strong and preyed on the weak—but this Li Zhengming had not seemed that type before.

"I know they sent you to probe me, and as for whether you were forced into it, that is not a reason that could earn you your life. Do you understand?" Wei Zhao watched him without any visible change in expression, killing intent still flickering in his eyes.

"I understand! Rest assured, Leader Wei Zhao, not a single word about your affairs will ever leave my lips!" Li Zhengming nodded hastily in eager agreement.

The reason Wei Zhao now wanted to kill him was, to put it plainly, very simple: he knew too much. He not only knew that Wei Zhao had successfully established his foundation, but even that Wei Zhao was already at the peak of the early Foundation Establishment stage—which, for Wei Zhao, who was bent on keeping a low profile, was clearly a considerable hidden danger.

What was more, this Li Zhengming was also one of Meng Jueming's underlings. Once this intelligence fell into Meng Jueming's hands, it would not merely cause Wei Zhao's plan of playing the pig to eat the tiger to fall through—it would also stir up any number of unforeseen troubles.

After all, a grassroots newcomer who had been in the Welcoming Pavilion for less than a month yet had leapt two levels to become a peak early-stage Foundation Establishment expert—if word of that got out, the sensation it caused would be extraordinary, and by then the situation would no longer be something Wei Zhao could control himself.

Wei Zhao gave a cold laugh, watching the other man with an unfathomable tone: "You have probably heard the saying—only the dead never leak secrets."

"This..." Li Zhengming's heart sank at once. Wei Zhao's meaning was clear: he had truly made up his mind to kill him and silence him for good!

He could see the killing intent on Wei Zhao growing fiercer by the moment, and perhaps the very next instant he would strike. He, a mere Heaven-rank grand completion cultivator, stood before a peak early-stage Foundation Establishment expert like Wei Zhao with not the slightest capacity to fight back.

Once Wei Zhao made his move, the only fate awaiting him was certain: body and soul both extinguished.

I refuse to accept this! After more than ten years of bitter endurance, after untold hardships to enter the Welcoming Pavilion, I finally caught the first faint glimmer of hope for revenge—how could I just die here for nothing, at the hands of a man who had nothing to do with me from the very start!

Thud, thud, thud! Li Zhengming abruptly knocked his head three times against the ground before Wei Zhao, splitting his forehead and covering his face in blood, a sight too pitiful to bear.

Wei Zhao's eyelid twitched at the sight. What kind of days were these? How was it that every random person he ran into insisted on kowtowing to him! Qiao Hongcai had been like this before, and now Li Zhengming was at it too!

"Leader Wei Zhao, I know you don't trust me, but there are things I must do, so I truly cannot die here. No matter what, please believe me this once! Siding with Meng Jueming before was truly out of helplessness—I never wanted to serve as a henchman for the wicked!" Li Zhengming said earnestly, blood streaming down his face.

"Things you must do?" Wei Zhao narrowed his eyes and sized Li Zhengming up. His words were earnest, and they did not sound false.

And from the few brief dealings he had had with Li Zhengming before, there was indeed something odd about the man. Even when sent to trap him, Li Zhengming had deliberately dropped quite a few hints—which showed that at least in his heart of hearts, he had never truly meant to do Wei Zhao harm. He had acted that way only because, being under Meng Jueming's command, he had no choice.

But Wei Zhao was not one to trust people easily. No matter how many grievances and helpless circumstances Li Zhengming might have, it was nonetheless a fact that he had obeyed Meng Jueming's orders to launch a sneak attack on him this time. Toward an enemy, Wei Zhao had never once given his true trust. RS