Chapter 4967 — If It's War You Want
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
"Served them right—is that what you mean? And yet I find it so very hard to believe. A mere early Profound-Ascension cultivator defeating an early Mountain-Opening one—such a thing has never even been heard of in the Mystic-Rank sea region. Could it be that this little backwater of yours hides dragons and crouching tigers even more than the Mystic-Rank sea region? I am highly suspicious. This affair was instigated by you, Zhuang Yifan, from behind the scenes!" Chang Tianwen sneered.
"Is that so? It seems you did not come to seek justice for anyone, but purely to stir up trouble. Only, what I am most curious about now is this: back in the Mystic-Rank sea region, when you competed with me for the post of Alliance Guild Master, you were my defeated subordinate. Where exactly did you find the confidence to come stir up trouble on my territory? Or have you perhaps broken through to a new level of strength?" Zhuang Yifan looked coldly at Chang Tianwen.
At these words, Chang Tianwen's face visibly darkened several degrees. His public, crushing defeat at Zhuang Yifan's hands in the Mystic-Rank sea region had been the shame of his life—a scar no one was permitted to tear open.
"Hmph, spare me such foolish talk of defeated subordinates and self-deception. Had I not been careless and underestimated the enemy back then, how would the seat of Yellow-Rank Academy Alliance Guild Master ever have fallen to you, Zhuang Yifan?" Chang Tianwen curled his lip contemptuously.
"So then I must thank you for your mercy that year, Your Excellency?" At those words, a note of mockery appeared on Zhuang Yifan's face.
Chang Tianwen's expression grew uglier still. In both background and strength, he had always considered himself a cut above Zhuang Yifan. Back when others had named the two of them in the same breath, he had dismissed it with contempt and even declared on the spot that Zhuang Yifan was not worth a single exchange with him—only to discover after they crossed hands that he was no match for Zhuang Yifan at all. The mocking gazes of the crowd that day still made him feel utterly humiliated even now, and he brooded on it to this day.
"You became Guild Master of this Alliance, and your strength has not improved, but your tongue has grown considerably sharper. How gratifying." Chang Tianwen gave a cold laugh, then said: "I am taking this brat named Lin today, no matter what. Guild Master Zhuang, if it truly was not you pulling the strings from behind, then surely you will not stop me? After all, by what you said a moment ago, this is also a private matter between us and him, is it not?"
"Whether it is a private matter is not for Your Excellency to decide, but for my Brother Lin here to decide himself. So long as he does not consent, he is a member of my Academy Alliance, and I dare guarantee that you cannot touch him." Zhuang Yifan said flatly.
"Brother Lin? You, Zhuang Yifan, are at least a late Earth-Splitting expert—to address such a greenhorn as an equal, do you not find it shameful to speak of?" Chang Tianwen laughed heartily. Seeing that Zhuang Yifan still wore an unmoved expression, he cooled his face and said in a low voice: "So you are set on protecting him?"
"Indeed." Zhuang Yifan nodded without hesitation. To say nothing of the old grudge between him and this Chang Tianwen—even without it, he would never allow Wei Zhao to fall into the other's hands. This was, after all, his greatest hope for surging into the Sea-Rending stage in the days to come.
"Then there is nothing more to say. I did not wish to take advantage of another's peril, but you have forced my hand." Chang Tianwen laughed at once. As his words fell, a monstrous pressure came crushing down from the sky, and the vast Morning Star Treasure Ship actually sank beneath it, forced down a great measure by that incomparable power, while the once-calm sea around them turned to surging waves.