Chapter 4141 — The Struggle Over the Deputy Island Lordship

Besides, being able to observe someone condensing a Nascent Soul at such close range—especially a legendary expert like Di Xingdao—was an exceedingly rare experience and source of insight for anyone. When Wei Zhao's own turn came in the future, he would be far more composed.

Condensing a Nascent Soul was countless times more difficult than forming a Golden Core. Throughout the ages, untold numbers of experts had become stuck at this threshold. No matter how thorough their preparations, the success rate remained appallingly low.

Di Xingdao, however, had successfully condensed a Nascent Soul once before. Strictly speaking, this time he was merely restoring his Nascent Soul, which made the process considerably less difficult. With Wei Zhao protecting him and bearing witness, he ultimately reunited his Nascent Soul without incident and succeeded in the end!

After that, Di Xingdao did not choose to leave seclusion immediately. Instead, he decided to take advantage of the momentum and restore himself to the peak of his strength in one stroke.

Having crossed the perilous threshold of restoring his Nascent Soul, Di Xingdao's profound foundation left no remaining bottleneck capable of blocking his path. Merely a few days later, he successfully emerged from seclusion—and his strength had astonishingly returned to the Nascent Soul Grand Perfection realm, the state he had once attained at his peak!

Now that he once again possessed the formidable strength to stand among the very strongest on Yunjie Island, Di Xingdao naturally felt entirely confident. Given his forthright nature, there was no reason for him to continue swallowing the humiliation he had suffered last time. Without another word, he immediately headed once more for the Island Lord Pavilion.

The Island Lord Pavilion stood atop Zhongding Mountain. As its name suggested, it was a place accessible only to the island lords. On Central Island, the Island Lord Pavilion had always consisted of five people: one island lord and four deputy island lords.

Yet when Di Xingdao reappeared at the Island Lord Pavilion this time, the scene was exactly the same as before. The Central Island Lord still cited his lengthy absence as a reason to remain noncommittal about restoring his status as a deputy island lord, while the other three deputy island lords likewise produced various excuses and artfully evaded the matter.

"Gentlemen, in all these years, I dare say I have never treated any of you unfairly. Nor have I ever offended you. So why insist on making trouble for me over something that is only right and proper? What benefit could it possibly bring you?" Di Xingdao sneered coldly at the four island lords.

Then, without waiting for the four men to speak, Di Xingdao released the full force of his Nascent Soul Grand Perfection aura without the slightest restraint.

Everyone's expression changed at once. When they had first learned that Di Xingdao's injuries had suddenly recovered, they had already been astonished enough. They had assumed that no matter how formidable he was, it would take him at least several months to regain his full strength. No one had expected him to accomplish it in a mere few days!

Everyone present except Di Xingdao was an expert of the Profound Ascension stage. If they had been facing any other Nascent Soul Grand Perfection expert, they would not have taken him seriously. Di Xingdao, however, was different. He absolutely could not be judged by ordinary standards.

The number of Profound Ascension experts who had died by his hand in the past was far from one or two. To others, instantly killing an opponent above one's level was a daunting challenge; for Di Xingdao, it was an everyday occurrence. No one could afford to dismiss him simply because his cultivation level appeared lower on paper.

At the very least, in terms of combat strength alone, even if Di Xingdao was not the strongest among them, he was certainly above the middle. Not a single person present, including the Central Island Lord, would dare claim a ten-out-of-ten chance of victory against him.

Faced with Di Xingdao's fully unleashed aura, everyone's expression became subtly strained. Strength determined one's right to speak. Before, when Di Xingdao had not recovered his full power, they could afford to disregard him. Now, they no longer dared to be so presumptuous.

The others exchanged glances. All three deputy island lords fell silent and adopted the posture of bystanders. In the end, the troublesome matter was kicked back to the Central Island Lord.

"According to the rules, anyone who fails to report to the Island Lord Pavilion for ten years is theoretically deemed to have relinquished his position automatically. Even Zhang Lifeng, our honorary island lord, who appears and disappears like a spirit, has never gone ten consecutive years without reporting in." The island lord glanced at Di Xingdao and spoke in a deep voice. "Could it be that you intend to rewrite the rules of the Island Lord Pavilion by yourself?"

"I would never dare. But I was gravely wounded before; my failure to report was not intentional. Rules may be dead, but people are alive. Surely you gentlemen are not so lacking in understanding that you cannot make even this small exception?" Di Xingdao said angrily, his face dark.

"For a thousand years, the rules of the Island Lord Pavilion have never been broken. They will not be broken at my hands." The island lord's face remained expressionless.

"You!" Di Xingdao was about to argue further when a deputy island lord standing not far beside him suddenly gave him a meaningful look.

The man's name was Chu Wentian. Of everyone present, he was the one closest to Di Xingdao. They were not sworn brothers willing to die for each other, but their temperaments suited one another, and the two had never come into conflict. Their relationship had therefore always been quite good.

"This is not a matter that can be settled in a sentence or two. In my opinion, Xingdao, you should give everyone some time to consider it carefully before we discuss it further." Chu Wentian stepped in to smooth things over.

Di Xingdao was unwilling to let the matter go, but he still nodded. His temperament allowed no room for grit in his eyes, yet he could also see that the situation was unfavorable. If he continued to press the matter so forcefully, he would only drive the island lord and the other deputy island lords into opposition. Once relations turned hostile, things would become even more difficult.

After stepping through the main doors, Di Xingdao was immediately pulled aside by Chu Wentian. He wanted to find out exactly what was going on beneath the surface.

"Actually, even with the rules in place, your special circumstances would have been enough to justify making an exception," Chu Wentian said, offering him a few words of comfort.

The reason Chu Wentian had not spoken up when Di Xingdao came last time was, ultimately, that Di Xingdao's strength had been far too weak then. He had not even been qualified to know the inside story, and telling him would have achieved nothing. Now, naturally, the situation was different.

"I could already guess that something must have happened behind the scenes. Whatever the inside story is, just tell me plainly." Di Xingdao waved a hand.

"All right, then. I'll be frank with you. Someone has set his sights on your position." Chu Wentian gave a bitter laugh.

"Who?" Di Xingdao's eyelid twitched, and anger flared in his heart. He had suspected as much, but he had not imagined that someone would truly dare pluck the whiskers of a tiger like him, much less try to seize his position as deputy island lord of Central Island. Had they already forgotten the glorious battle record he had forged back then?