Chapter 4450 — Raising Doubts
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
So long as they did not kill both men outright, the other agencies could challenge again and again, harvesting points off the pair without pause. And so, however great the Qingtian Escort Agency's earlier lead, its points could never cover such losses...
Qi Mingyuan on the platform could see this, and naturally Qi Wenmo below could see it too. What was more, he was utterly certain the scheme was aimed not at himself but at Ling Yi!
A tree that stands tall in the forest will have the wind tear at it. Ling Yi had shone brilliantly in the earlier matches, and by his strength alone had made the Qingtian Escort Agency a dark horse of the highest order and trampled the Sihai Escort Agency underfoot. Hai Wuliang had long been stung into a fury, and now that he had pulled this trick, who else could it possibly be aimed at but Ling Yi?
"This fellow spouts fairness and justice day and night, yet this challenge rule is plainly aimed at us—he wants to wear us down with a revolving door of challengers until we drop dead! He cannot beat us in open competition, so he stoops to such despicable means. How vicious!" Qi Wenmo ground his teeth.
Qi Wenmo did not yet know that in the enemy's eyes, not even a revolving door was needed: Wu Baoliang alone was enough to finish him and Ling Yi. And so long as one of them was left alive, they could harvest points however they pleased afterward—no one could stand in their way!
"Look at the judges' faces—this rule must have been added on the spot by Hai Wuliang himself. The man is going a bit too far." Wei Zhao frowned as well. Quite apart from anything else, the whole thing reeked of scheming, and being targeted with such malice was thoroughly unpleasant.
"Exactly. Something this big—why doesn't Father stand up and say a word?" Qi Wenmo muttered.
The words had scarcely left his mouth when Qi Mingyuan rose to his feet on the platform. He was, after all, one of the five judges; faced with a rule so maliciously aimed, how could he fail to strike back at all? Qi Mingyuan was no shrinking turtle.
"Chief Escort Hai, this rule on challenges by an agency's helmsman appears to have a flaw that needs supplementing," Qi Mingyuan said, clearing his throat.
Uproar swept the hall at once, and one puzzled face turned to another. In the past, it was the agency heads below who raised such questions—so why this time had it fallen to Qi Mingyuan, one of the judges? He was one of the framers of the rules; surely he could not be ignorant of them?
For a moment, every gaze in the hall turned thoughtful. The sharp-witted had already sensed that something was decidedly amiss.
"Oh? Does Chief Escort Qi have an opinion?" Hai Wuliang raised an eyebrow. He had known Qi Mingyuan would not swallow such a bitter pill so meekly and was bound to counterattack, but he had long since prepared his reply, and felt not the slightest worry.
"This matter of unlimited challenges is hardly rigorous for an assembly of this kind—it leaves an opening that is easily exploited. If opportunistic sorts use it to harvest points wholesale, where is the fairness and solemnity of the assembly?" Qi Mingyuan demanded, his words ringing with righteous indignation. (To be continued!)