Chapter 4228 — Is That What You Call Being Sensible?

Looking down from afar at the bustling town ahead and below, Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao exchanged a glance, both their eyes carrying a measure of astonishment. From what they had learned beforehand, a place like the Wei Arc sea region was a den of mixed company and utter chaos, where at the slightest provocation great battles would erupt and blood would wash over whole quarters. They had assumed that even as a gathering place for cultivators, under such circumstances it could not be all that prosperous.

Yet the scene before their eyes now was unmistakably a thriving town laid out under unified planning, its grandeur and solemnity rare even on the North Island, with not the faintest sign of bloodshed having washed over anything. From this it was clear that the Wei Arc sea region was not so simple as outsiders imagined.

"Get ready, we're going down," Wei Zhao said softly. Huang Xiaotao nodded in understanding at his side; she knew what would happen once they descended, and of course she also knew what Wei Zhao meant by getting ready.

A moment later, the two drove their spirit bird down to land at the sea region dock of Wei Arc City. This was the dock expressly designated by Wei Arc City for entry and exit to the sea; whether traveling by air or by sea, one had to stop here. It was a rule unified among all the leading factions of Wei Arc City, and whether native or outsider, all had to comply strictly.

Otherwise, anyone who rashly drove a flying spirit beast into the skies above Wei Arc City would be regarded as provoking the entire city, and at the same time as challenging every faction within it.

That was no idle threat. In the past, a formidable expert from a great faction of the Middle Island had looked down on all others and broken this rule without authorization, and the final outcome was that he died in a manner most unclear. Even when the Middle Island's Law Enforcement Hall later intervened, they could not get to the bottom of it, and in the end the matter simply faded away.

From then on, no one dared defy this rule again. However lofty one's backing, one still had to enter and leave through the sea region dock. In the end it came down to that same saying: a strong dragon does not crush a local snake. The factions of the Wei Arc sea region, each going its own way, were indeed far from a match for the top-tier powers of the outer islands, but it was precisely for that reason that those with nothing to lose feared nothing.

Coming to this Wei Arc sea region, unless one could crush every faction here with a single hand, then a dragon must needs coil, and a tiger must needs lie low.

The two landed at the sea region dock, and at once an attendant came over to help lead away their spirit bird. No flying spirit beast, spirit birds included, could enter Wei Arc City, so the sea region dock maintained a dedicated keep. For a set fee in spirit jade, one could leave one's beast in trusted custody with no worries at all.

Yet Huang Xiaotao had only just given the spirit bird a few instructions and sent it off when she turned her head and saw Cheng Qitian blocking the way before them, a wicked grin on his face, accompanied by one servant and two women. Though she had been mentally prepared for this, seeing the man again so suddenly still made her heart lurch. Had Wei Zhao not been standing at her side, Huang Xiaotao might well have struck out on instinct.

"I thought you two would run away, but I never expected you'd actually come. I really don't know whether to call you bold or to call you sensible," Cheng Qitian sneered with a mocking look. "Of course, I hope you'll be the latter. After all, only sensible people live long. And it would be such a spoiling of the scenery if a fine beauty had to be taken by force—don't you agree?"

"My apologies, but I'm afraid you've overthought this, sir. By your logic, we hardly qualify as sensible people," Wei Zhao responded evenly, his expression unchanged.

"Hah, so that's what you call being sensible, is it?" Cheng Qitian's face changed at once, his manner growing even more arrogant and unbridled. With a cackling laugh he said, "Fine, so you've got a stiff backbone! But I'd like to see how long you can keep it stiff. Since you've come to Wei Arc City, you may as well not leave—because you won't be able to leave at all."

"From the sound of it, sir, does that mean you can openly seize people at will here in the Wei Arc sea region?" Wei Zhao's expression likewise turned cold as he asked in return, his tone flat.

"Oh ho, that tone of yours sounds awfully unconvinced. What a pity—here in the Wei Arc sea region, I'm famous for curing every kind of unconvinced. And you've got it exactly right: that is precisely how it is!" Cheng Qitian sneered smugly.

As the two spoke, the tension between them drew taut as a drawn sword, and a crowd of passersby quickly gathered to watch, standing to one side pointing and chattering among themselves. And in all their words and deeds, without exception they favored Cheng Qitian's side.

There was no other reason—who was strong and who was weak was plain at a glance, requiring no thought at all.

In terms of strength, Cheng Qitian himself was an expert of the late Golden Core stage, and more critically he had a servant who was a genuine expert of the Nascent Soul stage, while Wei Zhao's side had only two mere early Golden Core experts—they were not on the same level at all.

In terms of backing, Cheng Qitian was the young master of the Poison Eye Mercenary Corps, a local snake through and through, while Wei Zhao and his companion were complete strangers, newcomers at first glance with not a shred of foundation to speak of.

With so stark and direct a contrast, in anyone's eyes there was simply no comparison to be made. The spectacle they were watching now was one they had in fact seen many times before; Cheng Qitian bringing men to openly seize women was never any news in the Wei Arc sea region. Every ten days or half a month there would be such an incident, and everyone had long grown used to it.

In the Wei Arc sea region, where each faction went its own way, no one bothered about things like seizing women by force, and still less would anyone step forward to invite trouble on himself. People watched the excitement, exchanged a few remarks, and let it pass. The only reason they gathered round was to see who the unlucky soul would be this time.

"There are so many people here—why not ask them whether I can seize people at will? Or you could make inquiries as to just how many women I've seized here?" Cheng Qitian laughed with unbridled triumph.

Hearing this, some among the onlookers shook their heads in disdain. The reason Cheng Qitian could be so arrogant was that he leaned on his father, Cheng Haonan, and the Poison Eye Mercenary Corps.

Otherwise, on his own, he could never have had a Nascent Soul expert as a follower, and though as a late Golden Core expert he was formidable, with so many experts in the Wei Arc sea region that alone would never have been enough to make him so overbearing and wild, with no one daring to restrain him.

Still, though they despised this sort of bully who traded on others' power, no one dared step forward. The jianghu is treacherous and every man looks to his own safety; stepping forward to play the hero would win no fair name, only make one a fool laughed at by all.

At these words, Wei Zhao frowned slightly, turned to exchange a look with Huang Xiaotao, and secretly gave her a meaningful glance.

Seeing it, Huang Xiaotao's heart gave a start. In Wei Zhao's eyes she saw a resolute, piercing killing intent, and she dared not be the least bit negligent, silently circulating her cultivation method to gather true qi. (To be continued...)