Chapter 3969 — Brotherly Friendship

Meng Jueming was dead, but the powerful enemies above him—Xu Lingchong and the rest—remained. If they ever learned that Li Zhengming had been an inside man from first to last, he would inevitably be thrust into the teeth of the storm, becoming a thorn in the side and a nail in the eye that Xu Lingchong and his circle would want removed at the first opportunity. His situation would become very dire indeed.

Li Zhengming understood this perfectly and bore no resentment. On the contrary, he was secretly grateful for Wei Zhao's consideration—after all, it also suited his own long-standing preference for keeping a low profile.

Still, keeping a low profile did not mean he truly had nothing to do. Only the strong can afford to keep a low profile; without strength, that is not low profile but cowardice, and anyone and everyone will come trample on you and bully you, bringing no end of trouble. So Li Zhengming knew very well that if he wished to keep a low profile, he had to display his strength at the proper moment and overawe those around him.

Qiao Hongcai, universally acknowledged as the foremost fierce warrior under Wei Zhao's command, was exactly the right opponent for Li Zhengming, who meant to establish his authority.

In this battle, according to the challenge rules of the Yingxin Pavilion, neither side used weapons, nor did they let their spirit pets assist. It was a pure clash of hard strength.

Originally Wei Zhao had expected the two to be evenly matched, and that if they truly went all out and fought to the death, it would likely end in mutual injury. He had even prepared himself to step in and stop them at the first sign of trouble.

In fact, at the beginning things went just as Wei Zhao had predicted: across several exchanges, Qiao Hongcai and Li Zhengming were evenly matched, neither gaining the upper hand. Their duel was so brilliant and fierce that even Wei Zhao, a skilled cultivator of the mid Foundation Establishment stage, watched and marveled without end.

The innate combat talent of these two destined them never to be mediocrities. When the moment came, they would shine forth like gold sifted from the sand, revealing their towering brilliance.

Wei Zhao had long known that Li Zhengming had successfully established his Foundation, so he was not surprised. But the others present had never witnessed Li Zhengming's true strength. They had even assumed all along that Li Zhengming was merely a cultivator at the peak of the Heaven Rank, utterly unable to withstand a single blow from Qiao Hongcai!

They had never imagined that this fellow Li Zhengming, without a word, had already reached such a level of strength that he could trade blow for blow with a fierce warrior like Qiao Hongcai, locked in a struggle impossible to separate.

Yet this deadlock did not last long. The crowd soon realized they had misjudged him once again: Li Zhengming's strength was not merely on par with Qiao Hongcai's—he was in fact a formidable existence that stood above Qiao Hongcai!

After the time it took to burn a stick of incense, Li Zhengming settled the battle without the slightest warning, using a consummately exquisite Frostfall Fist just as Qiao Hongcai's Iron Cold Palm ran out of momentum.

"Striking only after the enemy moves, with perfect timing—beautifully done!" Wei Zhao praised him sincerely, then took the lead in applauding. Right after him, the Long-suffering Senior Brother, Xiao Che, and the others all clapped appreciatively as well.

Even Qiao Hongcai himself unconsciously joined in the applause. He had lost today, and he conceded with complete sincerity.

"Li Zhengming, you really are strong. Wasting yourself all these years under a despicable bird of a man like Meng Jueming was a pearl cast into darkness. From today on, no matter what the others in the chapter think, I, Qiao Hongcai, count you as a brother!" Qiao Hongcai spoke from the bottom of his heart.

He was no fool. He could clearly feel that Li Zhengming had pulled his punches just now; otherwise he would at the very least be gravely injured at this moment, and could never be standing here as though nothing had happened.

Besides, Qiao Hongcai might look carefree and guileless, but he had his own method of judging people: judging them through fists and feet. A person's fighting style revealed much of his true nature—it was something close to instinct, entirely different from words, which could be honeyed and false. It could not be faked.

And from that duel just now, he could distinctly sense that although Li Zhengming was extremely forbearing, when it came to a true clash of strength, this man's spirit was second to none. Clearly, Li Zhengming had a powerful pride born in his very bones.

Such a person would not be the sort to enjoy playing schemes, nor could a mere Meng Jueming ever truly subdue him—not while alive, and even less so now that he was dead. Otherwise, with Li Zhengming's strength, he would have stepped forward long ago to summon the wind and call the rain, rather than keeping so low a profile as to be virtually invisible.

"Thank you!" Li Zhengming nodded heavily. Qiao Hongcai's simple words actually made the tip of his nose sting, and a grown man like him nearly shed tears.

Having served so long as an inside man under Meng Jueming, doomed by necessity never to see the light, he had gradually grown accustomed to solitude, to facing everything around him alone. Now, suddenly acknowledged by others, that feeling of being taken back into the light was something ordinary people could never understand.

The others did not know the reason, but Wei Zhao could not have been clearer. He walked over at once and patted him lightly on the shoulder, saying with a gentle smile, "You've worked hard. Welcome back."

Hearing this, Li Zhengming grinned—an unnatural grin, ugly, one might even say. It was not that he had anything on his mind; it was a smile from the bottom of his heart. It was simply that he had not smiled for so long that he had forgotten how.

Looking back, during these past six months or so in the Yingxin Pavilion, he had not only borne the heavy duty of acting as Wei Zhao's inside man, but also had to face the endless bullying of Meng Jueming and Meng Zhou every day, able only to endure and never to resist. Naturally, he could not smile.

What was more, the entire Qiushui Manor had been wiped out, and bearing such a blood-deep vengeance, every time he closed his eyes he would see deep in his mind the shadow of his enemy, so powerful as to be insufferably arrogant. How could he possibly smile?

"That smile's really ugly. Looks like you'll have to practice more from now on—otherwise, when you smile it's like you're crying. It's way too creepy." Qiao Hongcai, knowing nothing of all this, blurted out a sharp-tongued comment.

Li Zhengming was caught between laughter and tears, yet warmth welled up in his heart all the more. Having a brother in this simple-hearted fellow didn't feel bad at all.

Just then, Xiao Che came over and said to Li Zhengming with a smile, "Brother Zhengming, in a few days, once you've rested up, how about a match with me?"

For a moment, silence fell all around. Qiao Hongcai was a brawler by nature, so his challenging Li Zhengming was within everyone's expectations. But Xiao Che was not that sort of person; under normal circumstances, he would not casually take action.

Earlier, Qiao Hongcai had repeatedly wanted to spar with him, and he had refused every time. Now he had taken the initiative to challenge Li Zhengming—was it the thrill of the hunt, or did he have some deeper meaning?

Li Zhengming was slightly taken aback. After exchanging a glance with Xiao Che, he promptly nodded in agreement: "Very well. Then I'll ask Brother Xiao Che for his generous guidance when the time comes." R1152