Chapter 4447 — Arranging an Opportunity
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
And so, whether it was Wu Baoliang or Cheng Haonan—including Cheng Qitian, who had already died at the hands of the Divine Nun of the Eastern Sea—all of them used a special secret art to suppress their realms. At present, the two men's apparent strength remained fixed at the Golden Core peak, but their true inner strength had long since risen above that of ordinary Nascent Soul experts.
Wu Baoliang's true strength had by now reached the pinnacle of the early Nascent Soul stage, and given the fearsome power of his evil arts, even judged by his inner strength alone he could still easily fight above his level. In other words, even an ordinary mid-stage Nascent Soul expert was far from being Wu Baoliang's match, to say nothing of a mere Golden Core cultivator.
As for Cheng Haonan, the commander of the Poison Eye Mercenary Corps, he too now cultivated the evil arts refined and improved by Wu Baoliang, and with his formidable foundation from before, his strength was a cut above even Wu Baoliang's—he could effortlessly annihilate an ordinary expert at the peak of the mid-stage Nascent Soul.
"An unusual cultivation method?" Hai Wuliang's eyes rolled, and then he burst out laughing and called him out outright: "Evil arts are evil arts. Hiding and prevaricating before me like this—is that the attitude of someone asking a favor?"
"This…" Wu Baoliang was greatly alarmed at these words, and the eyes of Cheng Haonan and Long Kuiba likewise betrayed unconcealable terror. One and all they faced him as though confronting a mortal enemy, watching Hai Wuliang with the utmost vigilance.
An evil cultivator was a rat that everyone cried out to beat, wherever he went. That was why they had resorted to such roundabout phrasing as "a singular art"—and yet Hai Wuliang had seen through it at a glance. What were they to do now?
In the waters of Nanzhou, the great escort agencies were undoubtedly the representatives of the righteous path, and as the saying went, good and evil could never coexist. If Hai Wuliang truly took it into his head to seize them, it would be a meritorious deed of wiping out evil for the people—and once word spread, the Four Seas Escort Agency's prestige would surely soar, very likely snatching the limelight back from Qingtian Escort Agency and reversing its recent decline.
At this thought, the three of them broke out in cold sweat. A moment ago they had been wholly focused on getting Hai Wuliang's help, and had forgotten this fatal flaw. This was the headquarters of the Four Seas Escort Agency, certain to be teeming with experts. If Hai Wuliang truly entertained such a notion, the three of them would not even have a chance to flee!
This time they were in serious trouble! Long Kuiba was somewhat better off, but Cheng Haonan and Wu Baoliang felt as though they had plunged into an ice cellar. In their eyes, a man like Hai Wuliang was utterly profit-driven; if doing away with the three of them would bring him great benefit, he would never let the opportunity slip.
But contrary to what Wu Baoliang and the others had imagined, Hai Wuliang did not strike at once. Instead he looked the three of them up and down afresh, his expression unreadable, and suddenly asked: "How strong is that Ling Yi?"
"Eh?" The three, braced as if facing a mortal foe, were taken aback, finding it somewhat baffling—but Wu Baoliang grasped the meaning in an instant and hurriedly replied: "Very strong. On the surface he appears to be at the Golden Core stage, but Old Kong of our Poison Eye Mercenary Corps was an expert at the peak of the early Nascent Soul stage, and he has now been crippled by Ling Yi. Many people in Weihu City know of this; it will not be hard to verify."
"That troublesome?" Hai Wuliang gave him a somewhat dubious look, pinched his chin with one hand, and after pondering for a moment said: "Very well, then. I can contrive an opportunity for you to make your move against Ling Yi."