Chapter 11651 — The Road of the Prince of Qi's Estate
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
The old man in Daoist robes cupped his hands in salute and sighed softly. "To meet you all in such a manner, over the affair of my unworthy disciple—this poor Daoist has been most discourteous."
Wei Zhao glanced at him. From his aura alone, he judged the man to be a cut above Wei Baizhan and the others.
A peak early-stage Heaven Rank Venerable.
In this present age, when old monsters gathered like clouds, such strength was hardly outstanding—but in earlier times, it would have been solidly unattainable top-tier combat power, a transcendent existence whose single stomp could make the entire Inner Royal Court tremble.
The three Ancestors of the Prince of Qi's Estate could not help but feel their hearts sink.
A single Li Hongshou was one thing, but now there was also Zhang Tailing, a peak early-stage Heaven Rank Venerable—that was an entirely different matter.
Sure enough, Zhang Tailing merely lifted a finger, and Qi Zhuiyun was sent flying.
Their strengths were simply not on the same order of magnitude.
In that case, unless the three Ancestors of the Prince of Qi's Estate truly called a halt with Wei Zhao in time, everything on the scene would be at the mercy of this master-and-disciple pair, Zhang Tailing and Li Hongshou.
The crux was that this clash between the three Ancestors and Wei Zhao truly was not something that could be stopped just because one wished it.
A clash that touched upon the most fundamental layers of perception had always been exceedingly perilous.
Even if both sides decided to stop, they would need extraordinary mutual understanding; otherwise, the slightest discrepancy in the process could immediately trigger catastrophic consequences.
At bottom, whether the three Ancestors or Wei Zhao, neither trusted the other, and each had every reason to believe the other would seize the chance to dig a pit for him and bury him in it.
It was a classic, insoluble prisoner's dilemma.
At least with Zhang Tailing and Li Hongshou standing there watching, there was no way this matter could be resolved.
Even knowing full well that continuing would only make things worse and worse, both sides could do nothing but keep grinding it out to the bitter end, until one of them could hold out no longer.
Wei Zhao, for his part, had no objection.
He was using the other side to grind levels anyway; now that they had the blessing of their ancestral will, the leveling value was all the greater, and he could not have asked for more.
As for whether Zhang Tailing might launch a sneak attack midway, he was not much worried about that either.
If Zhang Tailing were to make a move against them, the likeliest outcome was that Zhang Tailing himself would be dragged into it as well, and then they would all end up grinding each other down together—leaving Wei Zhao with one more target to farm for experience. A fine turn of events.
The three ancestors of the Prince of Qi's Estate, by contrast, were now well and truly caught in a bind.
True enough, Zhang Tailing most likely would not risk striking at them directly.
But the trouble was this: while they were locked in a war of attrition with Wei Zhao, Zhang Tailing would have more than enough time to tear down the entire ancestral shrine—or even the whole Prince of Qi's Estate.
With Qi Zhuiyun no longer there to stop her, Li Hongshou at once flung the last batch of ancestral tablets in, not a single one left out.
All at once, the ancestral will upon the heads of the three ancestors of the Prince of Qi's Estate surged to its peak, and immediately bore down on Wei Zhao.
Yet the faces of all three were those of mourners at a funeral.
Watching this, Zhang Tailing gave a long, soft sigh and said to Li Hongshou, "That should be about enough. The Prince of Qi's Estate has had its roots severed, and Xiaonan has been avenged. Let us go."
"No. I want the entire Prince of Qi's Estate to be buried with my junior brother!"
Li Hongshou's expression was deranged.