Chapter 3711 — Are You Messing with Me on Purpose?

The four were Meng Zhou, Xiao Che, Qiao Hongcai, and Wei Zhao. Aside from them, Chongtian Pavilion and Xuanji Pavilion each had three people remaining.

Pavilion Master Hu Yunfeng's expression visibly darkened. Though the Tri-Layer Pavilion's assessment points were calculated separately, the comparison was plain for all to see. If anyone made an issue of it and spread the word, the higher-ups might well decide that he was unfit to serve as the pavilion master in charge of welcoming newcomers.

After all, he was backed by Chongtian Pavilion. If he could not even look after Chongtian Pavilion's own newcomers, allowing the newcomers of the perennially weak Qingyun Pavilion to climb over their heads instead, how could he possibly show his face afterward?

If someone with ulterior motives exaggerated the matter and stirred up enough trouble, Hu Yunfeng might well become the next Lu Bianren, forced to pack up and leave before his term was even over.

Fortunately, not long after the third incense stick was lit, two newcomers from Qingyun Pavilion withdrew first. This finally eased the gloom on Hu Yunfeng's face somewhat.

The two who withdrew were Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai. In terms of both strength and will, the two of them were outstanding even among the many experts at the peak of the Heavenly Stage. But in the end, they were merely formidable fighters at the peak Heavenly Stage level, and still could not compare with the few early Foundation Establishment experts present.

For the two of them, lasting more than two incense sticks was already quite an achievement. Their result was a full cut above that of everyone else.

Just then, Xu Lingchong, who was below the stage, suddenly shot a glance at several Enforcement Hall experts onstage. They nodded imperceptibly, and in the very next instant, the dual oppressive force pouring down upon Wei Zhao's head suddenly intensified, becoming more than twice as powerful as before!

Wei Zhao, trapped within it, felt his heart stir. After waiting so long, they were finally making their move against him! Everyone knew that this oppressive-force assessment had no provision for increasing the pressure midway. In theory, its intensity should have remained consistent from beginning to end.

The reason Xu Lingchong and the Enforcement Hall experts had not targeted Wei Zhao from the outset was that they had their reservations.

The reason was simple. Although they could easily adjust the oppressive force around Wei Zhao, he was, after all, an early Foundation Establishment expert in the eyes of the world. If they killed him onstage during the first incense stick, the circumstances would simply be too suspicious.

Now that the third incense stick had begun, however, the time was truly ripe. Having endured the first two incense sticks, even an early Foundation Establishment expert was beginning to struggle. At this point, if Wei Zhao were killed onstage, no one would find it too surprising.

At most, people would hear about it and sneer that the secular world was a place that produced counterfeit experts in abundance. They would never suspect Xu Lingchong and the others.

After two incense sticks, suddenly doubling the pressure was like running twenty kilometers in a marathon, only to have a sandbag equal to one's own body weight strapped onto one's back. The difficulty did not simply add up to twice as much. It became ten times, even twenty times, greater!

Had the target been any of the other early Foundation Establishment experts present, such as Kang Jingming, being caught off guard might have made them spit up a mouthful of blood on the spot. Suffering severe injuries or even dying there would not have been out of the question.

Unfortunately for them, their target was Wei Zhao, not only an early Foundation Establishment expert at the peak of the stage who had concealed his true strength, but also a formidable man who possessed the jade pendant's space and whose will was extraordinarily tenacious. Twice the pressure was enough to crush any newcomer present, yet it could do nothing to Wei Zhao.

The doubled pressure had begun to make Wei Zhao feel somewhat strained, but that was all. Given his current mental condition, combined with the true qi replenishment from the jade pendant's space, he could have endured this level for another two incense sticks without the slightest problem.

Wei Zhao's unchanging calm left several Enforcement Hall experts staring in bewilderment. Below the stage, Xu Lingchong continued to signal them urgently, urging them to hurry and deal with Wei Zhao. Little did he know that they had already made their move. It simply had not shown any effect on Wei Zhao.

This kid really does have some ability. A newcomer who came up from the secular world can actually withstand pressure of this intensity without changing expression. No wonder even a young master like Xu Lingchong is taking special aim at him!

The Enforcement Hall experts were secretly alarmed. But this was something Xu Lingchong had ordered, and there was no chance they would simply stop. After exchanging a tacit glance, they joined forces to raise the oppressive force around Wei Zhao once more, taking it directly to three times its original intensity!

For a moment, the pressure weighing on Wei Zhao grew several degrees heavier. At last, he began to feel some mental fatigue, and the true qi circulating through his Xuanyuan Dragonmaster Art also became somewhat sluggish. Still, the problem was not too serious. At least it had not yet entered a vicious cycle, and he could continue holding on.

Wei Zhao had yet to encounter any real trouble. Instead, Meng Zhou, not far away, was the first to suffer.

One had to understand that the Enforcement Hall's oppressive-force formation was a naturally integrated whole, including all the surrounding pavilion buildings. Even if the several Enforcement Hall experts could join forces to adjust the pressure in a particular area, they could not focus it with absolute precision on a single person. Those nearby were bound to be affected as well.

In other words, while releasing three times the pressure above Wei Zhao's head, they had also dragged Meng Zhou, who was not far away, into the disaster. The pressure descending upon him was not quite as outrageous as three times the original, but it was still twice as strong!

Twice the pressure was nothing to Wei Zhao, but upon Meng Zhou, it was lethal!

One must not forget that although he was an early Foundation Establishment expert, he had only broken through the day before by relying on the effects of a Foundation Establishment Pill and Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid. He was a genuine newcomer at the early Foundation Establishment stage.

Compared with the other experts at the peak of the Heavenly Stage, he naturally possessed ample confidence. But among those at the same early Foundation Establishment level, he was nothing more than a weakling and a complete novice.

Pfft! Meng Zhou had already been struggling. When the pressure upon him suddenly doubled, he was caught off guard and immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.

The sight instantly drew a chorus of gasps from the other newcomers below. He was the first newcomer that day to be forced into spitting blood, and he was even Meng Zhou, one of the four early Foundation Establishment experts. It was truly unexpected.

After spitting blood, Meng Zhou dared not remain onstage any longer. He hurriedly stumbled down, terrified that he might lose his life up there.

"Damn it! Are you messing with me on purpose?" The moment he stepped off the stage, Meng Zhou's first reaction was to unleash a torrent of abuse at the several Enforcement Hall experts above, provoking an uproar among the other newcomers.