Chapter 4460 — Taking the Field Personally

A rare hush fell over the great tournament. It was a good half incense stick's time before another escort agency stepped forward to issue a challenge—and not to the Qingtian Escort Agency, but still to those弱小 at the very bottom in both strength and ranking. The steady, near-certain points were what most escort agencies craved.

Five matches in a row were this sort of kick-them-while-they're-down scramble for points, devoid of any suspense. Compared with the clash between the Qingtian Escort Agency and the Wuma Escort Agency, they were utterly dull, and the mood across the Demon-Cold Plaza turned rather stifling; people were even beginning to doze off.

Just then, another fine show finally took the stage: the Xuanying Escort Agency, currently ranked sixth on the points table, named the Qingtian Escort Agency as its challenge!

At those two names, everyone perked up at once. Neither house was ordinary. The rising Qingtian Escort Agency needed no introduction, and the Xuanying Escort Agency was in no way simple either.

"The Xuanying Escort Agency?" Wei Zhao had no real knowledge of this agency, and the challenge caught him somewhat by surprise. He had assumed the Sihai Escort Agency would not be able to hold itself back.

After all, if it wanted to close the points gap quickly, challenging the Qingtian Escort Agency directly was the most cost-effective choice—one victory would claw back two hundred points in a single stroke. Otherwise, plodding along step by step, even four straight wins might not recover that many. Unless the Qingtian Escort Agency ran into a losing streak—except the odds of that happening were really not great.

"This is trouble..." Beside him, Qi Wenmo's brows knitted. Seeing that Wei Zhao still looked puzzled, he explained with a bitter smile, "This agency's strength is far beyond the likes of the Wuma Escort Agency. Its power is absolutely nothing to scoff at. Brother Ling, have you heard of the Yuantong Escort Agency?"

"I've heard a little—it's said that the original Five Great Escort Agencies split apart during the last Southern Continent Escort Grand Gathering. That was how their place fell to our agency." Wei Zhao nodded. He had heard other escorts mention the matter.

"This Xuanying Escort Agency is in fact the Yuantong Escort Agency after its reorganization. I hear that in recent years they've been recruiting far and wide, and their strength now surpasses the old Yuantong Escort Agency. What's more, this time they've openly raised a slogan: they mean to take back the position of one of the Five Great Escort Agencies from us..." Qi Wenmo could not help feeling tense.

Against the Wuma Escort Agency, even at heavy cost, one could always swallow the opponent. But this Xuanying Escort Agency, coming on so aggressively—if it truly came to blows, their strength might well be above their own. This was an out-and-out formidable foe.

"Heh, so they've come with ill intent." Wei Zhao finally understood. This Xuanying Escort Agency stepping forward to challenge his Qingtian Escort Agency was only natural. If it wanted to reclaim a place among the Five Great Escort Agencies, it would of course have to strike at one of them.

And compared with the other four traditional giants, the Qingtian Escort Agency, though riding high, was considerably weaker in depth of foundation. What was more, its predecessor's position had been taken from the old Yuantong Escort Agency by the Qingtian Escort Agency itself—so now this was a classic act of revenge!

"Brother Ling, what do we do now?" Seeing that Wei Zhao seemed unconcerned, Qi Wenmo said nervously.

"What else can we do? Fight with everything we've got. A hard battle like this has to be fought sooner or later; it's no bad thing. If we fight it well, the spirit of our whole Qingtian Escort Agency will rise a great notch—that is the bearing a great house ought to have." Wei Zhao glanced at him, then had the escorts form ranks, ready to begin selecting the roster.

"Brother Ling is right—it was I who lost my composure!" Qi Wenmo came to his senses. As the young master, showing fear before the battle would badly sap morale. Secretly ashamed, he hastily thumped his chest and said, "Brother Ling, this is a hard fight, and it will be difficult to win by cleverness as we just did. Why not let me hold the line in person?"

In a life-and-death duel on the arena, in the end one had to contend with raw strength. Not every match could be won by outwitting the opponent, as they had just done against the Wuma Escort Agency.

"Brother Qi, are you sure?" This time Wei Zhao did not stop him outright, for in his view the coming battle with the Xuanying Escort Agency might well be the fight in which the Qingtian Escort Agency was reborn. If Qi Wenmo, as the young master, took the field in person, not only was his own strength formidable—more importantly, it would greatly inspire morale and substantially raise their chances of victory.

"Of course!" Qi Wenmo nodded firmly and grinned. "Brother Ling, I entrust the command wholly to you. As for charging into the fray, leave that to me to settle."

Bearing in mind the later challenge by the agency's helmsman, for which strength had to be conserved, Qi Wenmo would absolutely not let Wei Zhao take the field as well. So this time he would lead the team himself—already the strongest lineup the Qingtian Escort Agency could field.

"Very well. This battle concerns the fate and future of the entire agency. Since Brother Qi is taking the field in person, this fight is all the more one we must win and dare not lose. Also, Brother Qi, you must be sure to look after your own safety—if anything should go wrong with you, even a victory here would not be worth the cost." Wei Zhao cautioned.

"Rest easy, Brother Ling. I know my limits." Qi Wenmo nodded firmly.

"Good." Wei Zhao at once began selecting the roster. This battle was crucial and admitted no error, so he had no thought of conserving strength; he simply brought out the strongest lineup currently available—counting Qi Wenmo, a Golden Core consummate, three Golden Core consummate experts in all, plus two at the peak of late Golden Core.

Of course, if one insisted on fielding the strongest force on paper, he could have added one more Golden Core consummate. But that man had fought a match against the Wuma Escort Agency; though unharmed, he had used up no small amount of true qi and could not recover in a short time. Forcing him in now would be meaningless.

With such a strongest lineup, they could now give even a great house like the Sihai Escort Agency a run for its money; against the Wuma Escort Agency of moments ago, this lineup could simply crush them head-on without any scheming at all.

When Qi Mingyuan, seated among the panel of judges, saw the roster of competing escorts handed up by Steward Song, he was struck dumb on the spot.

"Outrageous!" Qi Mingyuan's eyes bulged, and he slapped the table, about to leave the platform to stop it. To be sure, for the fairness of the tournament, judges were normally forbidden to leave the platform on their own—but he could not care less now. This was, after all, his only son, the one in whom he had placed such hopes!

The match mattered, true—but compared with Qi Wenmo's life, it was not worth mentioning! (To be continued) R655