Chapter 4476 — Wei Zhao Loses

Moments later, a bedraggled figure came hurtling out of the black qi atop the platform, and the crowd's worst fears were confirmed—the one who fell was none other than Wei Zhao.

"Brother Ling! Are you all right?" Qi Wenmo shouted as he rushed over. Wei Zhao was wreathed head to toe in tendrils of black qi, as though seared by the stuff, and scorch marks from blasts marked him everywhere; in places the flesh was mangled beyond recognition. It was a truly harrowing sight.

A commotion swept through the onlookers. This duel, which no one had been able to watch clearly, had ended with the flashy Ling Yi being blasted off the platform in a sorry state—surprising, to be sure, yet not entirely beyond expectation.

Qi Wenmo was frantic, darting around Wei Zhao like a headless fly, at a loss for what to do.

He knew nothing of healing. He could not even tell what injuries Wei Zhao had suffered, nor how grave they were. He could only stand by, eyes wide, rubbing his hands in helpless agitation.

Fortunately, Wei Zhao's injuries were not as severe as the crowd imagined. Though he looked wretched and was indeed badly hurt, he had not yet reached the point of true damage to his vital essence—at the very least, he could still sit up and heal himself.

Of course, this was mainly because he had wrapped himself in plenty of true qi for protection, and also because Wu Baoliang had never intended to strike a fatal blow.

To Wei Zhao, so long as he still had the strength to heal, it was no great matter—especially since no bones or sinews had been injured. A few moments would suffice to restore him to full strength.

Wei Zhao knew his condition was not serious, but in the eyes of everyone else, his wretched state was worse than pitiful—he looked like a dying cripple.

Wounds covered every inch of him, and ominous black qi still seeped from them. If that was not an omen of death, what was?

The black qi atop the platform dispersed, and Wu Baoliang's figure reappeared before the crowd. Compared with before, the gazes turned upon him now held noticeably more awe. It was the treatment a strong man deserved.

"I declare the Longzhou Escort Agency the winner! They may proceed to challenge the next opponent!" the presiding judge announced at once.

With that, the Longzhou Escort Agency seized a full one hundred points directly from the Qingtian Escort Agency. Its ranking climbed by one place, from sixth to fifth, and it achieved its wish of joining the ranks of the five great escort agencies. The agency it displaced was none other than the Sihai Escort Agency—the very agency most loudly touted as the overlord of the trade.

Watching the live standings shift, Hai Wuliang, seated at the very center of the panel of judges, turned the color of a burnt pot bottom once more, his face so dark it seemed ready to drip.

True enough, both this challenge among agency heads and Wu Baoliang's stepping forward to deal with Ling Yi had been arranged by Hai Wuliang himself, and both had achieved the desired effect. But his own Sihai Escort Agency being shoved out of the top five by the Longzhou Escort Agency—that had most certainly not been part of his plan.

In his original design, his Sihai Escort Agency was meant to reach second place after the fifth round of the Escort Agency Championship. Alas, heaven did not favor his wishes. The Xuanying Escort Agency's sudden rise had turned that plan to naught; instead of second, he had fallen all the way to fifth, and now this farce had broken out!

The mighty overlord of the trade, squeezed out of the ranks of the five great agencies—staring at that humiliating ranking on the scoreboard, Hai Wuliang felt his face had been smashed to bits, and that he could never again show himself in public...

But what was done was done; regret was useless now. Besides, the real show had only just begun—so long as his follow-up plans unfolded as intended, the Sihai Escort Agency would still have a strong chance to turn things around.

Hai Wuliang could only bury his head like an ostrich, comforting himself over and over: for now he was merely being trampled underfoot, and a little embarrassment was unavoidable—but only the one who laughs last is the true winner.

At that moment, apart from Qi Wenmo and the others fussing around Wei Zhao, every gaze in the hall was fixed on Wu Baoliang. They wanted the answer to a single question: whom did he intend to challenge next?

The twelve escort agencies on the board were seized with panic, especially the Golden Core higher-ups whose names were listed. They dreaded that the next name out of Wu Baoliang's mouth would be their own agency's. Losing points was a small matter; losing one's life was what truly frightened them!

"The opponent I have decided to challenge is still the Qingtian Escort Agency," Wu Baoliang sneered from the platform, eyes slanting.

At these words, another uproar swept the hall. Having won once, he was still not satisfied—he meant to keep challenging them in succession. Was this not plainly an intent to grind the Qingtian Escort Agency into the dirt?

Earlier, everyone had thought the Qingtian Escort Agency was stealing the spotlight, and the rival agencies in particular had worn unconcealed envy and jealousy on their faces. But now, after hearing Wu Baoliang's words, that envy and jealousy evaporated at once, and the looks cast at the Qingtian Escort Agency carried a trace of pity instead.

Before Wu Baoliang and the Longzhou Escort Agency, the Qingtian Escort Agency was no top-tier dark horse at all—it was nothing but a piece of meat, fat and dripping with grease.

Judging by the look of things, they would never rest until that piece of meat was entirely in their bellies. The Qingtian Escort Agency's ordeal had only just begun.

Still, the one being tormented was the Qingtian Escort Agency, and it had nothing to do with anyone else present. Watching these two agencies from the Weihu Sea region tear at each other's throats, the crowd was happy to enjoy the spectacle—and there was no shortage of those gloating over the misfortune.

Seeing the other judges beside him all wearing expressions of eager anticipation, and Hai Wuliang in particular sneering again and again, Qi Mingyuan grew frantic with worry. Ling Yi was gravely wounded now and certainly could not take the stage again, which meant the only Golden Core higher-up left to the Qingtian Escort Agency was Qi Wenmo.

But if even Ling Yi was no match for this Wu Baoliang, how much less his own son Qi Wenmo? Was this not sending the boy up to die?

"Chief Escort Hai, you racked your brains to concoct a challenge with not a shred of fairness to it. Quite apart from the inevitable censure, you end up making a bridal gown for someone else, while your Sihai Escort Agency gains not a single benefit—do you not find that rather foolish?" Qi Mingyuan regarded Hai Wuliang coldly.

Even a clay figurine has a spark of fire in it, let alone a local warlord like Qi Mingyuan. Matters had come to this pass; he no longer feared tearing the mask off in public.

"What is Chief Escort Qi saying? I don't quite follow." Hai Wuliang's expression shifted at once, and he adopted an official tone: "The original purpose of my proposal for this challenge among agency heads was to test the caliber of each agency's higher-ups, lest certain people use connections and background to pass off inferior goods as fine, damaging the reputation of our entire Nanzhou Escort Alliance. My sole aim was justice—is that a fault?" (To be continued) R655