Chapter 4487 — A Change of Opponent
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
But the question remained: even if Wei Zhao took the stage himself once more, what did he have to throw against an opponent this formidable?
Cheng Haonan was not Wu Baoliang. This man was not merely stronger—the crux was that he was far harder to counter. Against Wu Baoliang's Savage Sand Thousand-Blast Fist, Wei Zhao had been able to seize the technique for his own and turn it back on its master. That miraculous sleight had worked on Wu Baoliang, but to try it on Cheng Haonan would be nothing short of nonsense.
For one thing, Cheng Haonan's overwhelming physical technique was not confined to any single move or stance, and could not possibly be imitated in so short a time. And even if Wei Zhao truly could manage it, there would still be no hope of matching the man that way—the gap in their mastery was simply too vast. They were not on the same level at all.
To attack an enemy's strength with one's own weakness—what was that if not asking to be humiliated?
Yet he could not go on as he had. Past experience had already given Wei Zhao clear warning: a strategy of tangling with Cheng Haonan and wearing him down would not work. That left only one way—to settle the outcome in a single blow with the most devastating killing move he had. Since the Blazing Fire Thousand-Blast Fist would not serve, only the final trump card remained: a top-grade bomb fused from elixir fire and true qi.
That was the only counter Wei Zhao could think of, but time was short—a stick of incense at most—and part of it would have to be spent healing his injuries. Whether the little time left would be enough to condense a top-grade bomb of sufficient power, Wei Zhao had not the faintest confidence.
Still, feasible or not, it was the last option available. All he could do was wait until he was back on the platform and find some way to stall a while longer.
The situation hung by a thread, and below the platform Wei Zhao raced against the clock to prepare. Qi Wenmo and the others nearby were frantic, spinning in circles, yet they dared not disturb him and could only wait helplessly on the sidelines—if it truly came to the worst, the young master Qi Wenmo would have to risk his life and go up to hold the fort.
Meanwhile, every eye in the hall was fixed on Cheng Haonan. They had long since guessed what he would say, but in the end he had to say it with his own lips.
Cheng Haonan's gaze swept slowly over the crowd, heavy with meaning, lingering deliberately on Wei Zhao for a good long while. Only then did he finally speak: "I choose to challenge Zhenwei Escort Agency."
At those words, the entire hall froze. Qi Wenmo in particular had already begun striding toward the platform; hearing this, he stumbled and nearly fell, staring at Cheng Haonan in utter disbelief. As for Qi Mingyuan and the rest, their faces too were blank with shock, and for a long moment none could speak.
Zhenwei Escort Agency? Wei Zhao, sitting cross-legged on the ground healing his wounds, raised an eyebrow. Why would this fellow suddenly let him off and, for no apparent reason, go challenge Zhenwei Escort Agency? Could he have some deep grudge against them as well?
Of Zhenwei Escort Agency, Wei Zhao knew next to nothing—only that it was a mid-ranked agency, neither strong nor weak, neither showing nor hiding. It had no distinctive style of its own; it was the sort of existence easily forgotten in a corner.
Had Cheng Haonan not suddenly named it before the crowd, not only Wei Zhao—many a veteran of the Southern Continent Escort Alliance present would have been hard pressed to recall that such an obscure, invisible agency even existed.
Once named by Cheng Haonan, the chief head of Zhenwei Escort Agency took a long while to react, and then his face fell as though he had lost his parents. Why, when they had no old grudge and no recent grievance, should such calamity suddenly descend upon his house?