Chapter 4504 — Not a Single One Came

Of course, the overload of the ultra-limit state was immense—once used, one would inevitably suffer internal injuries. Moreover, Wei Zhao had not yet mastered such extreme techniques with any real proficiency, so at this stage it was better to avoid them whenever possible.

"It's coming!" Wei Zhao's eyes suddenly flashed with a keen light. Just now, while working through top-tier and ultra-limit body techniques, he had once again felt that same stirring artistic conception from before—and when he thought of the ultra-limit Butterfly Microstep, that conception had grown incomparably intense, surging and turbulent.

The vast, silent true qi within his body began to circulate on its own, beyond his control, faster and faster, until every meridian in his body grew fiercely active and his dantian churned like a storm-tossed sea—the signs of an imminent breakthrough!

By now the sky outside was gradually brightening. Wei Zhao had spent the entire night building up to this, and at last the thrilling moment had arrived.

With the sky fully bright, Demon Cold Plaza grew lively once more. Unlike the South Continent Escort Guild gathering of the previous three days, however, far fewer people had gathered here today—after all, there were no matches and no spectacle to watch. Apart from escort guild and merchant association personnel, outsiders had no reason to come join the crowd.

Naturally, the entire perimeter of Demon Cold Plaza was now guarded by escorts dispatched by the new Five Great Escort Guilds. Unless one had received an invitation, even those eager for some excitement had no way to slip inside.

After all, a great many order contracts were to be signed on the spot at today's assembly, involving no small amount of commercial secrets—so of course outsiders could not be allowed in to watch.

The assembly had not yet formally begun, but the attendees had already arrived in near-full force. At the heart of the inner circle, Qi Mingyuan, the newly risen overlord of the escort world, was in high spirits, chatting and laughing with great ease.

And the figures standing around him now were none of them ordinary. There was Chai Laoshi, manager of the Weihu branch of the Hong Merchant Association; Zhao Shanying, chief escort of the Xuanying Escort Guild; and the rest were likewise heads of various escort guilds and magnates of the merchant associations—every one of them a heavyweight. With Qi Mingyuan at its center, a new core interest circle had unmistakably taken shape.

By contrast, Hai Wuliang, once so eagerly courted, now stood utterly deserted, without a single well-wisher. Though the Four Seas Escort Guild had barely managed to hold on to the last of the Five Great Escort Guild seats, everyone knew the awkward predicament it now faced—and businessmen are always the quickest to trim their sails to the wind. Expecting them to send coal in the snow was pure fantasy.

Watching Qi Mingyuan and his crowd, Hai Wuliang's face went from green to purple by turns. To be so cold-shouldered in full public view—how was he supposed to endure the humiliation?

To keep standing there alone, exposed to all eyes, was simply too embarrassing and would only make him a laughingstock. Gritting his teeth, Hai Wuliang had no choice but to go strike up a conversation himself—something unthinkable in the past, but now he had no other recourse.

Still, he was, after all, a magnate of the Five Great Escort Guilds; Hai Wuliang could not possibly stoop to chatting up ordinary folk. And as for that core interest circle around Qi Mingyuan, he could hardly go thrust himself in and invite a snub. After turning it over and over in his mind, he could only settle on Zhao Bufan, chief escort of the Divine Wind Escort Guild—they had worked together for many years, and there was at least some friendship between them.

"Heh heh, Zhao—" Hai Wuliang walked over and forced out a smile, but before he could get the words out, Zhao Bufan suddenly left with his people, leaving him standing there alone, mouth agape in embarrassment, forced to swallow the rest of his sentence.

Looking again at Zhao Bufan, he had cast Hai Wuliang a glance that was half smile and half sneer, then turned and went to talk with Qi Mingyuan. Qi Mingyuan, of course, turned no one of such standing away; the two at once fell into a warm conversation, leaving Hai Wuliang alone in the cold wind…

"This Chief Escort Zhao is quite the character. Brother Ling, just look at old Hai Wuliang's expression—simply priceless, hahahaha!" Qi Wenmo had witnessed the whole scene clearly and was doubled over, clutching his belly with laughter.

"They say everyone pushes a falling wall, but for Hai Wuliang, a man of such standing as chief escort of the Four Seas Escort Guild, to fall all at once to such a neglected, awkward state—that really is hard to imagine." Wei Zhao shook his head, somewhat at a loss for words.

A dead tiger still retains its majesty; ordinarily, even a fall from grace should not be this wretched—and the Four Seas Escort Guild had not truly collapsed yet. These people present really were a thoroughly practical bunch.

"Heh heh, that's how the South Continent sea region has always been—all profit, no sentiment. These people can turn on you faster than flipping a page." Qi Wenmo laughed carelessly, then gave Wei Zhao a careful once-over and said, "Brother Ling, did you take some wondrous elixir today or something? You seem a bit different—especially energetic?"

"No, no—must be your imagination, Brother Qi." Wei Zhao smiled faintly. Half an hour earlier he had successfully broken through from the middle Golden Core stage to its very peak, so of course he was glowing with vigor and energy. But he had always kept a low profile; such matters were best kept to oneself, with no need to broadcast them.

"Really? Maybe so…" Qi Wenmo scratched his head, puzzled, then asked no more—for at that moment Qi Mingyuan had already led the crowd onto the platform. The South Continent Escort Alliance Assembly had begun.

As the newly risen overlord of the escort world, Qi Mingyuan naturally had to give an opening address, by convention. But he was not like Hai Wuliang and those other posturing types; this segment was purely symbolic, a few words tossed off in passing before he cut straight to the chase and began presiding over the negotiations for cooperation between the great escort guilds and the many merchant associations.

The heads of the various escort guilds were instantly invigorated, every one of them itching to try their luck. This was the day's true main event—whether their guild would eat meat or merely broth over the next five years, or fail even to get broth and be left chewing the northwest wind, all depended on how many orders they could pull in today.

In truth, everyone present knew full well that even before the formal start, the outcome was all but decided. This was an assembly for sharing the fruits of victory—and as the name implied, only the victors ranked at the front could share in the greatest fruits. As for the losers who had fallen from favor, all that remained for them was to look on hungrily.

"Heh heh, the thing I'm most curious about right now is just how many orders Hai Wuliang and his Four Seas Escort Guild will end up with. Brother Ling, why don't you take a guess?" Qi Wenmo laughed with keen interest. "In the past, the Four Seas Escort Guild always took a full twenty percent share all by itself, strutting about like nobody's business—but this time, it's looking dicey."

"I couldn't guess. But judging by the cold shoulder he got just now, it's bound to shrink badly this time. The Four Seas Escort Guild is in for hard days ahead." Wei Zhao smiled, then changed tack. "By comparison, I'm more curious about something else—how is it that not a single person from Long Kuiba and his Dragon Boat Escort Guild has shown up?"R1152