Chapter 4192 — An Unexpected Host
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
Of the nearly hundred Golden Core core disciples of the inner sect present—including the outer-sect disciples who had come to challenge—nearly all had friends or acquaintances, and sat about in twos and threes. Wei Zhao alone sat isolated, with no one around him for empty space.
At this, Wei Zhao himself recognized where the problem lay, and at last understood that being summoned to take part in the inner-sect tournament out of the blue was most likely Xu Lingchong's doing behind the scenes. His grandfather was the man in charge of this year's tournament; pulling a few strings from within would be simplicity itself. A malicious scheme indeed!
With Wei Zhao's strength and confidence, even though he had only recently advanced to the early Golden Core stage, he would never fear a one-on-one fight against these core inner-sect disciples. But the trouble was the two-on-two—what was he supposed to do about that?
Of the nearly hundred people present, apart from Xu Lingchong, Meng Zhou, and sworn enemies like Nan Tianxiong, Wei Zhao did not know a single soul, let alone any close acquaintances. Who was he supposed to find for a team?
Even bearing the halo of Rookie King, and having recently drawn no small attention by slaying Su Zhaohe in an instant, he was still, after all, only a newcomer. By any accounting his strength ranked at the very bottom of everyone present, and as for the crowd here—he was barely acquainted with any of them, to say nothing of coordination and rapport.
Even if someone took a liking to him, the problem remained: to rashly team up with a newcomer who knew nothing at all, and what if they ended up as cannon fodder? This was no joking matter—the risk was simply too great!
Yet if he could find no teammates, in theory he could still enter the team event—and then Wei Zhao would be forced into a one-against-two situation. Unless some inner-sect disciple had taken a bribe and secretly threw the match, he would have no chance of victory whatsoever.
Wei Zhao might be the strongest Golden Core expert to have achieved a perfect breakthrough, but he had only just stepped into the Golden Core stage. Had he been at the mid Golden Core stage, a one-against-two might still have been possible; but at the early Golden Core stage, a one-against-two was plainly a losing proposition!
Watching Wei Zhao from afar, frowning and speechless, Xu Lingchong and Meng Zhou exchanged a knowing smile. This time they had truly landed Wei Zhao in it.
"Heh heh, Chongchong, you've really set him a hard problem this time. I've known this fellow for a year now, and I've never once seen him look so troubled. Today has been an education." Meng Zhou laughed with gleeful schadenfreude.
"Brother Meng, this is only a little punishment, an appetizer. There will be plenty more chances later—I mean to torment him until he's in ecstasy and in agony by turns!" Xu Lingchong curled his lip with a venomous look.
"Best of all if the draw pits him against us this time—then we can settle our scores!" Meng Zhou nodded coldly.
Ever since his nature had changed so drastically, Meng Zhou had not, to be sure, shown Wei Zhao any gnashing of teeth—but that did not mean his hatred had been worn away. On the contrary, every time he felt the pain of his shattered heart, his bone-deep loathing for Wei Zhao grew one layer deeper!
He had not shown it before only because he knew he lacked the strength for it. But now that he had thrown in his lot with Xu Lingchong, the situation was altogether different.
He too was now an expert of the early Golden Core stage. Though in a one-on-one against Wei Zhao he might not have a hundred percent chance of victory, add a mid Golden Core Xu Lingchong to the mix, and snuffing out Wei Zhao would be as easy as turning one's palm. He was already hungry and impatient for it!