Chapter 4937 — They Brought It on Themselves

"Good, then tell me—is he or is he not a Xuan-rank first-grade alchemist?" the Alliance Chairman asked, coming straight to the point.

"He's a Xuan-rank first-grade alchemist?" Ni Caiyue sprang up as though she had been stung, and but for the perception barrier surrounding them, that shriek would likely have carried across the entire dock.

"You didn't know?" The Alliance Chairman frowned and glanced at Wei Zhao. He had assumed that since the woman was one of their party, she would nod without a moment's hesitation—who would have thought she would react like this?

"I didn't know, no. He never told me. All I know is that he's an alchemist." Ni Caiyue paused there, thought it over, and added: "A very formidable alchemist."

"Oh? Formidable in what way?" The Alliance Chairman's eyes lit up at that.

"In less than half a day he refined seven Nourishing Mystery Pills, and he only used four sets of ingredients—isn't that formidable?" Ni Caiyue said, beaming with reflected glory.

Wei Zhao listened with his face darkening. This foolish girl truly had not a shred of caution—was that sort of thing to be told to just anyone? No wonder Chang Laiting and his lot had hounded her again and again; she had well and truly asked for it!

Still, then again, he had foreseen this. Sending the Alliance Chairman to verify things with Ni Caiyue had been precisely the intent—without it, it would be hard to make the man believe he was a Xuan-rank first-grade alchemist. After all, words alone proved nothing; there had to be sufficient evidence.

"Truly?" The Alliance Chairman's excitement surged at once. Seven Nourishing Mystery Pills from four sets of ingredients, in less than half a day—that was certainly beyond the reach of a seventh-grade alchemist. Once the truth of the matter could be verified, then a Xuan-rank first-grade alchemist would be beyond doubt.

"Of course it's true. I was the one who found the Nourishing Mystery Grass in there, as it happens. Here—these three Nourishing Mystery Pills are the ones he refined." As she spoke, Ni Caiyue produced three pills, wearing an expression that seemed to fear the other party might not believe her.

Wei Zhao was left all the more speechless. Everything was within his expectations, true, but someone as utterly incapable of learning a lesson as Ni Caiyue was a rare specimen indeed. Did the foolish girl not fear that the other party might be moved to greed at the sight of treasure?!

Then again, Ni Caiyue was not truly stupid. The motion of taking out the Nourishing Mystery Pills was quite careful; she deliberately screened the gazes of the surrounding crowd with her body, letting only the Alliance Chairman see. Given his strength and station, the Alliance Chairman would naturally not covet her paltry three Nourishing Mystery Pills—unless he meant to give them away as gifts, such pills were of no use to him whatsoever.

Looking at the three Nourishing Mystery Pills in Ni Caiyue's hand, the Alliance Chairman fell silent, shock plain upon his face. He knew, of course, that the Path of Giants produced Nourishing Mystery Grass, and these three pills were rich in quality and brimming with medicinal essence—they truly did not look like long-finished pills, but rather ones freshly refined.

In other words, what this Ni Caiyue had said was essentially credible.

In fact, from the moment Ni Caiyue had announced her own name and affiliation, it had become rather unlikely that she was lying—such lies were easily exposed, and once exposed, the Alliance Chairman's wrath was not something a mere early Xuansheng disciple could withstand.

After a moment of silence, the Alliance Chairman's attitude abruptly changed. Turning to Wei Zhao, he said with a conciliatory smile, "Master Lin, allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Zhuang Yifan, Chairman of the Yellow-Rank Academy Alliance. I was truly presumptuous just now, and I hope Master Lin will be generous enough to overlook it."

Wei Zhao had seen the whole process of his face-changing plainly, and at the words he laughed inwardly. These great personages of the Eastern Continent were indeed far more snobbish than the magnates of the other Cloud-Rank Isles. The magnates elsewhere had at least some self-respect and carried themselves with an air of dignity in all they did; but these Eastern Continent folk were plainly different—nearly every one of them had a face-changing trick up his sleeve. Wei Zhao had long since grown used to it.

This Zhuang Yifan, as Alliance Chairman, was originally a man of high position and heavy authority, full of arrogance. During the trial mobilization earlier, he had not even deigned to let the assembled Yellow-Rank Academy disciples know his name—that sort of pride was practically carved into his bones.

Yet now he was volunteering a conciliatory smile and introducing himself, and together with his earlier meek, deferential manner toward Zang Zili, it was clear this was a man who could bend and stretch as occasion demanded. His pride, too, was tailored to his audience.

"Chairman Zhuang exaggerates. From beginning to end, your handling of the matter has been beyond reproach. Were I in your position, I would surely have made the same choice, so there is no need to give this trifle another thought," Wei Zhao said with a faint smile.

Though it was a little high-handed to address Zhuang Yifan in such a tone, he was now a Xuan-rank first-grade alchemist, and if he did not put on such airs, the other party might well start conjuring suspicions of his own.

"As expected of the esteemed disciple of Senior Shangguan and Master Zhang—Master Lin is not only of transcendent strength, but possesses a magnanimity all too rare. Truly a model for the youth of our Eastern Continent," Zhuang Yifan said with a smile.

This was not merely flattery laid on Wei Zhao; it came from genuine feeling. The more gifted a man, the more pride he bore—he had seen no few dazzling top-tier geniuses, and though they were indeed outstanding, they all had a certain tendency to look down on the world. In this one respect alone, Wei Zhao, who knew when to advance and when to yield, was at least ten streets ahead of those top-tier geniuses.

"Chairman Zhuang flatters me." Wei Zhao smiled noncommittally, then turned his gaze to Zang Zili and the others lying senseless to one side. "Then as for today's affair, how does Chairman Zhuang intend to handle it? Do you need me to give you an accounting?"

"Ha ha, Master Lin jests. Those few brought it all on themselves. Besides, Zang Zili said beforehand that this was a private matter between you, and insisted over and over that if they died, they died for nothing. I could not even talk him out of it at the time—everyone saw it. Why would I need to go to such superfluous lengths now?" Zhuang Yifan changed face with remarkable alacrity. Far from standing up for Zang Zili, it was a wonder he did not step up to trample on him.

Of course, that was also because Zang Zili, woman that she was, had handled herself so poorly. Believing herself a Xuan-rank first-grade alchemist, believing that Zhuang Yifan needed a favor from her, she had put on lofty airs. Given the conduct she had displayed, anyone at all would have been provoked—let alone a great personage of Zhuang Yifan's rank and authority.

Wei Zhao smiled at that; it was only to be expected. Then Zhuang Yifan raised a hand and called out to the Alliance guard squad beside them: "Take Master Zang and the others back to the treasure ship of Dingcheng Academy. Private matter or not, it hardly does to leave them lying here."

"Yes, sir!" The Kaishan-stage experts of the Alliance guard squad were visibly taken aback.