Chapter 4941 — Recommending the Profound Rank
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
The party arrived at the reception hall and took their seats, exchanging pleasantries for quite some time, until at last Wei Zhao had no choice but to take the seat of honor. Plainly speaking, Zhuang Yifan had come for his sake—if he did not take the seat of honor, was Li Ren to take it? Li Ren would sooner die than presume to fill that role.
"In all my years, the top-tier geniuses I've encountered number no fewer than eighty, if not a hundred, yet one as astonishing as Master Lin—this is the first I've seen. North Island truly is a place that produces great figures," Zhuang Yifan said in flattering praise the moment he sat down.
"President Zhuang flatters me," Wei Zhao said with a faint smile, making no particular effort to contradict him. After all, he could hardly say that North Island was a wretched backwater of feeble strength, could he?
Besides, having already claimed to be the disciple of Shangguan Tianxia and Zhang Lifeng, and to be a first-grade Profound-rank alchemist, he naturally had to carry this pose through to the end—he could not give it up halfway. Otherwise, if Zhuang Yifan grew suspicious, that would be trouble.
"Heh heh, Master Lin is far too modest. Forgive me for asking, but has Master Lin come to the Eastern Continent this time intending to settle down for good, or merely to take part in the Path of Giants and make your breakthrough to the Profound Ascension stage? If you are inclined to settle here, I happen to be on good terms with the heads of several Profound-rank academies. A word from me, and I'm sure they would stop at nothing to come snatch you up. What does Master Lin think?" Zhuang Yifan offered eagerly.
This proposal made everyone present light up at once. For the vast majority of academy disciples, the very next thing to consider after breaking through to the Profound Ascension stage was how to enter a higher-tier Profound-rank academy.
Not just any Profound Ascension expert could join a Profound-rank academy; the difficulty was in fact immense—even greater than when they had once battered down the gates to get into a Yellow-rank academy.
The reason was simple: though Profound Ascension experts were far fewer in number than Nascent Soul experts, the cultivation resources that could actually benefit a Profound Ascension expert were fewer still, and the competition all the fiercer. The disciple quotas of Profound-rank academies were therefore all the more precious.
If one had such ambitions, Wei Zhao's heaven-defying talent and strength meant he need hardly worry about finding a Profound-rank academy to take him—but his standing after entering could not be guaranteed. If he were merely an ordinary disciple rather than a core disciple, that would be a raw deal.
If, however, Zhuang Yifan personally made the introduction, things would be altogether different. A core disciple's identity would be absolutely assured—far better than rashly going off on his own to sit the Profound-rank academy selections.
"I appreciate President Zhuang's kindness, but for the time being I have no plans to linger in the Eastern Continent. The matter of the Profound-rank academies can wait for another day," Wei Zhao declined without the slightest hesitation.
It was not that he deliberately meant to refuse the other's favor—he simply had no such plans. It was the same as his original reluctance to come to the Eastern Continent and join a Yellow-rank academy: a man like him was destined to improve fastest only by constantly tempering himself out in the wider world. Joining a Profound-rank academy would only constrain him; better to make his own way outside.