Chapter 4359 — Requesting an Audience with the Director

"Oh? Let's hear it. But as I said a moment ago, someone's been sniffing around me lately, so there are certain favors I can't do." Qin Deli glanced at him. Back in the day, he had skimmed no small profit thanks to Wei Zhaotong; if this was nothing too troublesome, he did not mind doing him a small favor on the side. If it was a thorny matter, though, that was another story.

"Rest easy, cousin. It's just carrying a word or two—it won't put you in any awkward spot," Wei Zhaotong said hurriedly.

"Carrying a word? What word?" Qin Deli asked, puzzled.

"Cousin, Morning Star Academy is making a grand show of this recruitment. If you came across a genius of a kind rarely seen in a hundred years, surely you could recommend him to the academy's higher-ups?" Wei Zhaotong said, a meaning hidden in his tone.

"Naturally. If he's truly a genius, then never mind me—any disciple of the academy has the right to recommend someone." Qin Deli nodded, then eyed Wei Zhaotong with sudden suspicion. "I say, Brother Wei, you haven't taken some bribe to get me to recommend that Cheng Qitian fellow outside, have you? Anyone can see at a glance that he's trash. Even if I recommended him, it would do no good—the higher-ups would spot the trick in an instant..."

"No, no, no, not him. The one I want you to recommend is someone else—a bodyguard from the local Qingtian Escort Agency by the name of Ling Yi," Wei Zhaotong said, shaking his head again and again.

"What could a mere bodyguard amount to, that you'd need me to recommend him?" Qin Deli grew more puzzled still.

"He's only in the early Golden Core stage, yet he can kill experts in the Nascent Soul stage in a single blow, across the gap in cultivation. Cousin, would you call that formidable or not?" Wei Zhaotong said with a look of deep profundity.

"How is that possible? Brother Wei, you must be joking—how could such an expert exist under heaven?" Even Qin Deli was badly startled. Then his eyes lit up. "Don't you lie to me. If this Ling Yi of yours really is a genius of that top-tier, heaven-defying caliber, then recommending him at once would be a great merit for me!"

"Cousin, not a word of it is false. One of that Young Master Cheng's servants outside is an expert at the very peak of the early Nascent Soul stage. And this man crippled him in a single exchange. Many people witnessed it—ask anyone down at the docks and you'll soon know," Wei Zhaotong said, sipping his tea.

The first time he heard of the matter, he too had been badly shaken. An expert merely in the early Golden Core stage, able to cripple a peak early Nascent Soul opponent in one exchange—anyone with an ounce of common sense would find it hard to believe.

Yet for that very reason, Wei Zhaotong had chosen to go along with Cheng Qitian's wishes and deal with this Ling Yi before Qi Wenmo and the Qingtian Escort Agency—the growth potential of such a genius was boundless. If he could not be killed before he grew stronger still, it would be too late to deal with him afterward, and the trouble would be endless.

"Is it really true? Then this man is remarkable indeed. So long as his spiritual root attributes aren't too poor, his entry into the academy is all but settled. Brother Wei, fetch this man quickly and let me have a look at him!" Qin Deli said, suddenly unable to wait.

A genius of this sort—just a few words to the academy's higher-ups, and he could effortlessly reap a great merit. For a man in as precarious a position as his own, it was a timely rain; even for the sake of that merit alone, ordinary people would not dare scheme against him at a time like this.

"Cousin wants to see him—that's a bit difficult," Wei Zhaotong said, shaking his head.

"What? You ask me to recommend him, yet you won't let me meet him. Do you mean to hoard him as rare goods all for yourself?" Qin Deli's face fell at once.

"Oh, cousin, what are you imagining? Am I that sort of man?" Wei Zhaotong waved his hands again and again, then smiled bitterly. "It's not that I don't want you to see him—it's that this Ling Yi is my enemy!"

"Your enemy?" Qin Deli was struck dumb, then looked Wei Zhaotong up and down with a strange expression. "I say, Brother Wei, has a donkey kicked you in the head? You want me to recommend an enemy of yours? If this fellow really is as heaven-defying as you say, aren't you afraid that once he's in the academy and his wings have hardened, he'll turn around and come for you?"

"Afraid? Of course I'm afraid. Even if he never enters Morning Star Academy, if he isn't eliminated early, I'll never sleep easy." Wei Zhaotong gave a cold smile. "That's precisely why I devised this scheme and asked you to help, cousin—to lure him into the trap!"

"Lure him into the trap? What exactly do you have in mind, Brother Wei? Tell me in detail," Qin Deli said, his interest instantly roused.

"Good. Think about it, cousin—whoever a man is, if he had the chance to enter Morning Star Academy, surely he wouldn't refuse?" Wei Zhaotong asked in turn.

"Naturally. How many geniuses have battered their heads against the door trying to get in, only to be turned away? Who would refuse an opportunity like that dropped into his lap?" Qin Deli nodded.

"Exactly, and that Ling Yi surely won't refuse either. But outsiders imagine Morning Star Academy as a holy land for cultivation, and few know that it's actually bristling with danger," Wei Zhaotong said. He had spent five whole years in the Gaolin Sea of the Eastern Continent and had often run over to Morning Star Academy; he knew its inner workings inside out.

"True enough. Many of the newly admitted genius disciples never imagined how dangerous it is inside. Otherwise, so many of them wouldn't meet an early death in their very first year," Qin Deli nodded.

"So all we need do is send Ling Yi into Morning Star Academy—which is really to send him into the tiger's mouth. Then, cousin, you put in a little effort to sow discord in secret, and let those tigers fix their eyes on this tender lamb Ling Yi. What do you think the result will be?" Wei Zhaotong said with a gloating smile.

"Why, he'll be set upon by the whole pack and die with no place to be buried!" Only now did Qin Deli finally understand. He clapped Wei Zhaotong on the shoulder and laughed heartily. "Hahaha, Brother Wei, you truly are a profiteering merchant—to think you could devise a scheme that kills without spilling a drop of blood! And with the Morning Star Academy's signboard hanging out front, even a man who knew the murderous intent behind it—even one who knew it was a pit—would most likely be unable to resist the temptation and jump right in. That Ling Yi, for crossing you, has truly had the worst luck of eight lifetimes!"

"What can I do? This hidden danger is too great—I can't sleep until he's gone." Wei Zhaotong smiled smugly, then grew serious. "This matter, cousin, I leave in your hands!"

"Consider it done. I help you, and I pick up a merit for free—two birds with one stone!" Qin Deli laughed.

Once the two had settled their plans, Qin Deli could hardly wait. He returned at once to the inn where Morning Star Academy was lodged and solemnly requested an audience with the director, Ling Yuanqing. (To be continued)