Chapter 4842 — Regret Comes Too Late
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Judged purely by status, Wei Zhao now stood at least on equal footing with the three titans of the Morning Star Academy—perhaps even a generation above them.
After all, Qing Xuanzi was the Academy's chief alchemist, a man whose standing fell scarcely short of the three titans themselves—and now Wei Zhao had become his master. The very thought of it was enough to make one's head spin.
Strange as it sounded, however, the world of cultivation ultimately revered strength above all. In whatever field one's strength was transcendent, so long as it was great enough, one would earn the world's respect—and so it was with the Way of pill refinement as well.
By his current strength alone, Wei Zhao naturally could not begin to stand on equal footing with the three titans. But if he truly was, as Qing Xuanzi claimed, a legendary Mystic-Rank first-grade alchemist, then it was not merely a matter of equal footing—he would stand a full head above them.
"Heh, a most interesting young man." Ling Yuanqing fixed Wei Zhao with a long look from amid the crowd, then turned and walked out of the Morning Star First Tower. By now there was no need for him, as Academy Head, to step forward and speak; of that there could be no doubt—the Hong Clan Trading Company would be the Academy's sole supplier from this day on.
"Academy Head, that brat slipped right past us back then—feeling a little regretful now, are you?" Wei Hebei had suddenly appeared behind Ling Yuanqing, his expression peculiar as he glanced back at Wei Zhao in the crowd.
In truth, he was giving voice to his own feelings. If anyone among the three titans hungered most fiercely for prodigious disciples, it was Wei Hebei—and to discover that such a heaven-defying young man had slipped through his very fingers left him so full of regret his guts had turned green.
"Regret comes too late. The boy now stands as an equal to the two of you—and if you tried to have him bow under your gate at this point, word would spread and you'd be a laughingstock. Qing Xuanzi's face, at least, would be a sight to behold." Without anyone marking when she arrived, the Holy Nun of the Eastern Sea had appeared before the two of them.
At her side followed Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao, both of them turning again and again to look back. From the moment they had discovered Wei Zhao, they had been dying to reunite with him; only the crowds and prying eyes of this place, and the Holy Nun's earnest, painstaking persuasion, had at last restrained them.
At this moment but one thought filled the hearts of both young women: to hurry back to the Academy, and then slip quietly away to the Hong Clan Trading Company to see Wei Zhao.
Hearing the Holy Nun's words, Ling Yuanqing and Wei Hebei exchanged a helpless, bitter smile, and could only look at Huang Xiaotao. "Xiaotao, oh Xiaotao, why didn't you say something back then? Getting your senior fellow apprentice to join the Academy too would have been wonderful—with talent and strength like his, his treatment would have been beyond reproach. Ah..."
For the Academy, Wei Zhao's joining would not merely have added a prodigious disciple—more crucially, it would have added a top-tier alchemist, suspected to be a Mystic-Rank first grade. The benefits were beyond measure; alas, it was now too late for any of it.
"Master's uncle, that was my senior fellow apprentice's own decision. I couldn't interfere in it," Huang Xiaotao said, sticking out her tongue and exchanging a smile with Wang Xinyan.
The passersby parted and stared, watching the three titans of the Academy take their leave. Meanwhile, back at the Morning Star First Tower, the auction's dramatic turmoil having played itself out, Qing Xuanzi at once proposed, "Master, would you care to take a look at our Academy? The scenery there is rather fine. And while you're at it, you might give my pill-refining chamber a few pointers."