Chapter 3726 — No Confidence at All
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Among the three, Wei Zhao had assumed Xiao Che was the strongest—after all, they had come up from the mortal world together, and he knew the man inside and out. Xiao Che was restrained and steady by nature, the type to accumulate deeply and burst forth late; his defense was no weak point either, so this assessment should have been easy for him.
And so it proved. Xiao Che remained calm and composed from first to last. Qiao Hongcai, by comparison, though likewise only lightly wounded, came off a bit more bedraggled. What Wei Zhao had not expected, however, was that Li Zhengming would handle it even more easily than Xiao Che.
When the examiner's full-power strike came, a layer of frost congealed over Li Zhengming's chest in an instant, absorbing much of the damage for him. So it was that barely a moment after leaving the field, the creature had already risen unhurriedly to his feet—and after examining him on the spot, Zhao Hongbo declared his injuries fully healed!
Recalling how Li Zhengming had deliberately concealed his strength and kept a low profile in the past, Wei Zhao was certain the creature had held back just now as well. Had he gone all out, he could very likely have emerged without a scratch. Clearly, this creature too was a genuine powerhouse.
Had his strength not exceeded the other's by a full two tiers, Wei Zhao reflected, he might not have been able to bring this creature to heel at all, and would have had to keep a wary eye on him. But now that Li Zhengming had become his inside man, the stronger he was, the better.
Once the Heaven-rank grand completion assessments were all done, the eyes of the entire hall naturally settled on Meng Zhou and Wei Zhao. Every face wore a complicated expression—awe, envy, mockery, amusement, and all manner of deeper meanings besides.
As the only four early Foundation Establishment experts among all the Sanjie Pavilion newcomers, and with Kang Jingming and Zhong Yongliang yet to register, Meng Zhou and Wei Zhao were very likely the only two newcomers today to challenge the peak early Foundation Establishment tier above their level. Such a challenge was a rare sight not to be missed, and everyone meant to watch closely.
The examiner was ready. Under all those watchful eyes, Meng Zhou shot Wei Zhao a glance and said with a contemptuous smirk, "So, show-off, you first or me?"
"Doesn't matter." Wei Zhao shrugged indifferently.
"Tch—one look at you and I can tell you've got no confidence at all. Fine, this grand sir will be magnanimous and lead the way, so you can see what a real early Foundation Establishment expert looks like. A creature like you, who barely scraped into Foundation Establishment on a Foundation Establishment Pill and a streak of dog-shit luck—you're not even worth watching!" Meng Zhou gave a cold laugh and strode toward the examiner.
This was something they had planned long in advance. If Meng Zhou did not take the lead in facing the assessment, Wei Zhao might well back out at the last moment.
But if Meng Zhou went first of his own accord, then after Wei Zhao saw him successfully withstand a full-power strike from a peak early Foundation Establishment examiner, his guard would inevitably slacken, sowing a psychological illusion: if even Meng Zhou, who had always been inferior to him, could do it, then surely he could too. Only thus would he willingly step into the abyss of death!
"Heh... if you really had that much confidence, why secretly take a fourth-grade Great Return Pill?" Wei Zhao could not help laughing to himself.