Chapter 4960 — The Guild Master Strikes

As the words left his mouth, a colossal pillar of lightning came crashing down from the heavens, striking Chang Minghui in an instant. Though Chang Minghui was a man of considerable renown—an expert of the late Mountain-Opening stage—he had no chance to react at all.

Lightning was nature's ultimate speed, and in a sense it was no different from the wind blades he had just launched in an instant. Others could not dodge his wind blades, and so he in turn could not dodge Wei Zhao's Lightning Burial.

Once the Lightning Burial entered his body, Chang Minghui was seized by violent convulsions, and the layers of fierce wind that had bound Liu Ziqi lost their control. Only then did Liu Ziqi regain his freedom and catch his breath.

"Just in time!" Wei Zhao looked upon the scene and let out a long, shaky breath of stale air, still shaken. The power of this Lightning Burial had reached the very limit of what he could control—a notch or two stronger even than when he had used it against Zang Zili. Had it been otherwise, he doubted it would have had any effect on Chang Minghui at all.

Unlike last time, when Zhuang Yifan had neutralized it, this Lightning Burial lasted for a full several breaths, the blinding lightning glow turning the miles around almost as bright as day.

Watching Chang Minghui convulsing within the immense pillar of lightning, Wei Zhao and Liu Ziqi exchanged a shaken glance. Surely there should be no problem now?

But before the two of them could relax their taut nerves, Chang Minghui let out a hysterical roar from within the Lightning Burial. In an instant a gale erupted for tens of miles around, howling in from every direction to converge upon Chang Minghui, and beneath that incomparable wind-storm's shredding force, the immense lightning pillar was cut to pieces—and the Lightning Burial was forcibly torn apart by him on the spot.

"What a stubborn thing!" Wei Zhao's heart pounded at the sight. This Lightning Burial was the very limit of what he could achieve, and yet it had still been forcibly broken in such a manner—were all experts at the late Mountain-Opening stage such lunatics?

In truth, Wei Zhao had never expected a single Lightning Burial to actually bury Chang Minghui, but at the very least it should have left him with sufficient injury. Who could have imagined he would shatter it outright!

Granted, the way Zhuang Yifan had neutralized the Lightning Burial last time had been far more effortless than this man's, but Zhuang Yifan was, after all, a great expert of the late Land-Splitting stage. Whatever he did, Wei Zhao would not find surprising. Yet for Chang Minghui to manage this as well—that was a considerable blow to him. When all was said and done, his own strength was simply too weak.

"You had best be careful. The thing has been thoroughly enraged—he might well vent his fury on you," Liu Ziqi warned in a low voice.

"Mm." Wei Zhao nodded. Even injured, Liu Ziqi was still an expert of the mid Mountain-Opening stage, not so easily finished off. And that Lightning Burial just now was the true culprit behind Chang Minghui's fury. If Wei Zhao put himself in the other man's position, he reckoned there was a good chance he would pick himself as the target to vent his anger on too.

While Wei Zhao and Liu Ziqi stood on edge as if facing a great enemy, Chang Minghui, having swallowed this bitter loss, did not go on a rampage as they had expected. Instead, after a sharp whistle he shot abruptly into the air, and a massive shadow appeared beneath his feet—his flying mount, the Ghost-Eyed Golden Eagle.

Wei Zhao and Liu Ziqi could not help but stare. Was the thing planning to fight from above, raining attacks down from on high? For a renowned expert of the late Mountain-Opening stage to resort to such a method—how shameless could he be!

Yet unexpectedly, Chang Minghui merely shot the two of them a venomous look, and the Ghost-Eyed Golden Eagle swiftly climbed into the clouds and vanished from sight. He had simply left.

"This..." The battle had ended so abruptly that Liu Ziqi could not react in time, and he stared blankly at Wei Zhao.

"What a pity." Wei Zhao, however, shook his head with a bitter smile. He had already guessed why the other man had suddenly departed—because this had been the most crucial link in his plan. Had it succeeded, Chang Minghui truly would have died here tonight. But for such a vicious, domineering creature to turn and flee without hesitation the moment he sensed something amiss—one hardly knew what to say.

Chang Minghui was no mindless fool, after all. The man was merely crude and arrogant on the surface; when the critical moment truly came, he would never do anything stupid. It had been so at the banquet earlier, and it was so now.

"Master Lin, Zhuang has arrived a step late and given you a fright. Your wounds—are they serious?" Zhuang Yifan suddenly appeared out of thin air before the two of them, addressing Wei Zhao with a face full of concern.

Only now did Liu Ziqi understand—so this was who had come. No wonder Chang Minghui had fled so suddenly. Had he not run, he truly would have died here tonight. With Zhuang Yifan's strength, once he set his heart on killing, there would be no way out for him at all.

"Oh, it's nothing," Wei Zhao said with a faint shake of his head.

"I am truly sorry. Zhuang was preparing to enter seclusion to take the Earth-Solidifying Pill, and only just now did I sense something amiss. I never imagined that creature Chang Minghui would be so utterly audacious as to dare strike at Master Lin so openly in League territory. Had he not fled so swiftly, Zhuang would have seen his blood spilled three feet across the ground today!" Zhuang Yifan said, his face somewhat unable to hide his embarrassment.

"Guild Master Zhuang need not blame himself so. I was not badly hurt in any case. The attack came without warning—it is quite normal that he escaped." Though he said this, Wei Zhao's expression at that moment was rather intriguing.

"No, no. For such a thing to happen to Master Lin in League territory, I, as Guild Master, cannot escape blame no matter what. It seems those good-for-nothings in the guard corps are overdue for a thorough housecleaning—a thing like this happens and they show not the slightest response. A pack of useless sacks," Zhuang Yifan could not help but vent his anger.

Wei Zhao and Liu Ziqi exchanged a glance and said nothing. From the start of the clash with Chang Minghui until now, a full half-incense stick's time had passed, and yet not a single one of the League guard corps' many Mountain-Opening stage experts had arrived. That really was hard to justify.

"How about this: Master Lin, the two of you come with me to the League branch. The League's finest healers are there, and wounds should not be delayed," Zhuang Yifan proposed.

"That won't be necessary. I know a little medicine myself; treating wounds like ours is more than enough," Wei Zhao waved him off.

"Oh? I never expected Master Lin to be skilled in medicine as well?" Zhuang Yifan was taken aback, then clapped a hand to his head as it came to him: "Ah, see how poor my memory is! Master Zhang Lifeng was not only a Pill God but also the foremost medical sage of Cloud-Tier Island. As his closed-door disciple, Master Lin's superb medical skill is only to be expected."

"Heh heh. If Guild Master Zhuang has no other business, I shall go back and treat Aunt Liu's wounds first," Wei Zhao said with a smile.

"Yes, yes—tending wounds comes first. I'll see you off." With that, Zhuang Yifan wrapped Wei Zhao and Liu Ziqi in his true qi without further ado, and in the blink of an eye delivered the two of them back onto the treasure ship of the Morning Star Academy.

Wang Xinyan, Huo Yudie, and Huang Xiaotao were all on deck, craning their necks in anticipation. Seeing Wei Zhao and Liu Ziqi suddenly appear, both bearing no light wounds, they could not help but start in alarm and hurriedly clustered around.