Chapter 4939 — Not What They Imagined
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
Of course, the more likely scenario was that Morning Star Academy, upon sensing the wind turning foul, would pull back in time, pushing Wei Zhao out to vent Dingcheng Academy's fury—sacrificing a pawn to save the rook.
But all of that rested on the premise that Wei Zhao was merely an ordinary academy disciple. And judging by Wei Zhao's feat of toppling Zang Zili against all odds, that assumption was clearly unreliable. What was more, he was a Xuan-rank first-grade alchemist—a figure of such importance that Morning Star Academy would probably hold fast to the bitter end even at the cost of mutual destruction.
After all, once Wei Zhao grew into his potential, he would be a protective umbrella reaching the heavens. If they could win his wholehearted patronage, it was not even impossible for a Yellow-Rank academy to advance to Xuan-rank in one leap. So long as the three giants of Morning Star were not fools, they would surely defend him to the death at any cost. Thus Li Ren's pledge to bear full responsibility was not really out of line.
"Could it be that Master Lin has stirred up some heaven-shaking disaster?" Seeing the strange look in Zhuang Yifan's eyes, Li Ren's heart skipped a beat. The gap in their stations was too great; if the other man truly meant to do something to Wei Zhao, he had no way to stop it at all.
"A heaven-shaking disaster? I suppose so. To anyone else it would indeed be a heaven-shaking disaster, but for Master Lin that is greatly overstated—at most, a bit of minor trouble." Zhuang Yifan smiled with studied reserve. To have said this much was already a great show of face; to expect him to explain further was utterly impossible. At the very least, a mere Li Ren could never command such consideration.
"Minor trouble?" Li Ren was taken aback. This was completely at odds with the news he had just received. Those people had said Wei Zhao had struck down two officiating alchemists of Dingcheng Academy—how could that be minor trouble?
Zhuang Yifan had no inclination whatsoever to explain. Turning his head, he said to Wei Zhao with a conciliatory smile, "Master Lin, I shall not intrude upon you aboard the ship. I imagine you would not welcome me there either..."
So he said, yet his feet showed not the slightest intention of leaving. His intent was plain: now that Zang Zili, whom he had gone to such trouble to invite, was in a state of unknown life or death, if Wei Zhao were to slip away from him as well, he would be well and truly played for a fool. Compared with his grand alchemical scheme, this bit of face as Alliance Chairman was worth nothing at all.
Looking at the utterly bewildered Li Ren, then at the posturing Zhuang Yifan, Wei Zhao felt a surge of helplessness. Since Zhuang Yifan had brazenly put it that way, he could hardly play dumb and really let the man leave. He was the Alliance Chairman, after all—that would be far too ungracious.
Besides, Zhuang Yifan was the honored Alliance Chairman, whom these Yellow-Rank academies ordinarily could not invite even if they tried. His willingness to board Morning Star Academy's treasure ship would be an absolute honor for the academy, a splendid chance to shine before all the other academies!
"What is Chairman Zhuang saying? You are a guest so distinguished that we could not invite you even if we tried. Since you have come all this way, how could we not have you aboard for a while? If word of this got out, it would surely damage Morning Star Academy's reputation—outsiders would all say Morning Star Academy has no manners. I would not dare let Morning Star Academy bear such blame." Wei Zhao said with a smile.
"Since you put it that way, Master Lin, then I, Zhuang, must accept rather than decline. In any case, I could hardly smear Master Lin's face, haha." Zhuang Yifan suddenly found Wei Zhao even more pleasing to the eye. A top-tier genius this perceptive was rare indeed; this young man's future was boundless.