Chapter 4193 — A Missing Teammate

And with his ambition and his methods, he could never be content to remain an ordinary inner-sect disciple. Even if for the moment he lacked the seniority and the foundation to contend for the post of steward-senior of the inner sect, the post of steward-second-senior was still worth a try.

His recent constant appearances at all manner of public occasions had in fact been calculated to that very end—warming up the ground and building momentum in advance. So long as he distinguished himself in this inner-sect tournament, and with his grandfather Xu Yuanzheng working quietly behind the scenes, his prospects of seizing the steward-second-senior post were very good.

"As for Wei Zhao, he will have to be dealt with sooner or later. He cannot escape this young master's palm!" Xu Lingchong smiled coldly.

Once Xu Yuanzheng had finished his announcement, the many Golden Core disciples present dispersed one after another. Wei Zhao could do nothing but rise and return to the Welcome Pavilion, thoroughly helpless and thoroughly gloomy.

He did not know a single one of these inner-sect disciples—so whom on earth was he supposed to find for a team?

Thinking it over carefully, apart from the crowd of newcomers at the Welcome Pavilion, and apart from rivals like Xu Lingchong, the people Wei Zhao knew at the Sandie Pavilion—never mind inner-sect disciples, even outer-sect disciples were few—were mostly not even at the Golden Core stage.

Shangguan Lan'er, Huang Xiaotao, Cong Zhima, the Rag King, plus Miserable Senior Brother and Lu Bianren—counting them all up, Wei Zhao's acquaintances numbered exactly six.

Of those six, Lu Bianren was certainly strong enough, but he had not shown his face for a long time. From what Miserable Senior Brother said, he seemed to have gone off the island on a mission; Wei Zhao could not even meet him, let alone take him as a partner.

Miserable Senior Brother, meanwhile, was run off his feet with affairs at the Welcome Pavilion, and his strength was far from the Golden Core stage—he could be of no help.

As for the Rag King, that creature was simply not suited to combat, and besides, he had to watch over the artifact-casting pool and could not free himself.

And Cong Zhima—loyal enough, and he had left Wei Zhao with a fairly good impression—but they had had no contact since the business at Huicai Tianwu Mountain, and his strength was insufficient besides.

That left only the two girls, Shangguan Lan'er and Huang Xiaotao. Of them, Shangguan Lan'er did not enter the year-end tournament at all, nor had she the slightest interest in pursuing the martial path. She was a guileless girl who disliked cultivation, and Shangguan Tianxia could do nothing with her but let her follow her own whims.

If Wei Zhao went to her for a team, she would probably be glad to help—only, first, her strength was too weak; second, she was not suited to combat at all; and third, she was soft-hearted. Fine as a good friend, but as for fighting monsters together—best forget it.

That left only Huang Xiaotao. Wei Zhao thought it over and concluded that she was in fact a rare and excellent choice!

By the rules, even an official outer-sect disciple who had successfully formed a Golden Core could enter the inner-sect tournament, and once entered, no matter the final result, would be promoted to inner-sect core disciple!

The only difference lay in this: if one performed brilliantly in the inner-sect tournament, one might be taken as a nominal disciple by a great figure such as an elder of the high council; but if one performed poorly and in the end drew no one's notice, one could only become an ordinary inner-sect disciple and cultivate under the inner-sect steward-senior.

So long as Huang Xiaotao could successfully form her Golden Core, she would be able to enter this inner-sect tournament—and besides, she had spent years doing trial missions at the cultivators' guild on the North Island, and her combat prowess ranked among the first class of experts at her level.

Wei Zhao had witnessed this with his own eyes back at Huicai Tianwu Mountain. Even if her jungle-cloaking technique and her powerful archery were not easy to bring to bear in arena combat, used properly they would make her a threat no one dared underestimate.

This would be a fine teammate! Wei Zhao went straight to Huang Xiaotao and explained the matter of the inner-sect tournament to her.

"So I'm desperately short a teammate right now, and for the moment I can't find anyone better suited than you. I wonder, Xiaotao, if you'd be willing to help me?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Of course I'm willing!" Huang Xiaotao said delightedly. She knew Wei Zhao rarely asked anyone for help, and the fact that he had come to her now proved exactly what place she held in his heart—this was a stroke of luck she would never have dared hope for!

"Excellent!" Wei Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. He had expected that Huang Xiaotao would be willing to help, and he thought her an outstanding choice of teammate—but what if she disliked fighting? He could hardly force her against her will!

"But my strength is only late Foundation Establishment right now. I can't enter that inner-sect tournament, can I?" Huang Xiaotao, her excitement past, suddenly realized, and lowering her head she said in a small voice.

"That's no obstacle." Wei Zhao was prepared for this. At her words he smiled faintly and said, "I can guarantee that within these five days, you will form your Golden Core!"

"What? How could that be possible?" Huang Xiaotao's mouth fell open in disbelief. "I'm still a full two levels short of Foundation Establishment perfection, let alone forming a Golden Core..."

Even if all went smoothly, she would need at least three to five years before she could even begin preparing to assault the Golden Core; and if something went wrong along the way, it would take even longer.

Form a Golden Core within five days? That was sheer fantasy—by any normal person's reckoning, utterly impossible.

"Do you still have your Wandu Golden Core Fruit?" Wei Zhao smiled slightly. The reason he had sought out Huang Xiaotao was, apart from her suitability as a teammate, precisely this indispensable key.

"It's right here—I haven't taken it yet! But even if I took it now it would be no use. It can only let a Golden Core expert advance a level; surely it can't turn a late Foundation Establishment cultivator like me straight into a Golden Core expert?" Huang Xiaotao said, utterly baffled.

"Then there's no problem. Come with me." Wei Zhao smiled mysteriously, said no more, and hurriedly took Huang Xiaotao by the hand and ran straight for his cave dwelling.

Huang Xiaotao was at once shy and flustered. She let Wei Zhao pull her along, and could not help but begin to let her thoughts run wild.

What was Wei Zhao planning to do? First all that vague talk, and then in the blink of an eye he suddenly dragged her off to his cave dwelling—surely he didn't mean to... with her...

Oh, how mortifying! Thinking further, Huang Xiaotao's face turned the color of a burning cloud. Thankfully she wore a veil, or she would surely have drawn stares from passersby.

The two hurried to Wei Zhao's cave dwelling. Wei Zhao motioned Huang Xiaotao to sit on the couch and said casually, "Hurry now—take off your clothes first!"

"Oh." Huang Xiaotao answered instinctively, then suddenly snapped awake: "What? Take... take off my clothes?!"

"Yes, quickly—we don't have much time." Wei Zhao answered without turning his head, making preparations on the side. R1152