Chapter 2214 — A Clash Erupts

This time Wei Zhao did not even glance at him—it was, for all intents and purposes, as though he did not exist.

"What the hell is this? Everyone thinks they're hot stuff now, do they? Shows up late and still struts around like he's somebody—clearly he's just asking for a beating!" The green-robed expert of the early Yellow Rank was somewhat nettled as well. He harbored the same notion as the black-robed expert: with the two of them joining forces, they could hold their own against even a mid-Yellow Rank expert.

"Smack!" A slap landed across his face—but the one who struck was not Wei Zhao, rather a burly man in white robes in his thirties. Behind this burly man stood Lazi, wearing a bitter smile.

Lazi had gone to call on these experts in order of their rank; naturally, the strongest were visited last, so that Lazi could accompany him when he came. But who would have thought that the moment they arrived, they would hear someone airing grievances here—and worse, that it would be overheard by this very expert, the strongest of them all, at the peak of mid-Yellow Rank. How could such an insult be easily forgiven?

"A mere early Yellow Rank, and you already don't know the immensity of heaven and earth!" The burly man in white robes eyed the green-robed expert coldly, the full might of his peak mid-Yellow Rank strength spilling out from every pore.

The green-robed expert was, in truth, one to bully the weak and fear the strong. Seeing that this burly man in white who had come later was actually an expert at the peak of mid-Yellow Rank—and that even joining forces with the black-robed expert, they could never be his match—he dared not make any further trouble now. Clutching his face, swollen high from the blow, he did not dare say another word.

"I hit you—do you submit?" The burly man in white robes seemed unwilling to let the green-robed expert off so easily. He had also meant to use this occasion to establish his authority and cement his transcendent standing within this adventurer squad. He had been worrying over the lack of an opportunity before—and now the green-robed expert had delivered himself right to his door.

"I submit..." the green-robed expert had no choice but to say.

The burly man in white robes nodded in satisfaction, then turned his gaze to the black-robed expert. "And you?"

"I... I submit as well." The black-robed expert had done the calculations: even if he and the green-robed expert attacked together, the gap in strength between them and this burly man in white was still too great—they were no match at all. So at this moment, he had no choice but to utter the word "submit"!

Such is the world of cultivators: strength is the only truth. If your strength is great, then no matter how unwilling or resentful others may be in their hearts, there is nothing they can do about it.

"And you two?" The burly man in white robes seemed not yet satisfied. Though he had clearly seen that Wei Zhao and Sun Jingyan were obviously not with the black-robed and green-robed experts, he still turned and asked coldly.

Wei Zhao glanced at him and paid him no heed.

"Hey, seems there are still some who won't submit! In an adventurer squad, there must be a spirit of cooperation—and a spirit of obedience as well. Lazi, these two team members won't listen; the squad will be hard to lead!" The burly man in white robes gave a cold laugh. "I say, if we don't knock some sense into them now, there will surely be trouble once we're up the mountain!"

"This..." Lazi gave a bitter smile and looked at Wei Zhao, saying helplessly, "Mr. Zhang, this Mr. Bai is an expert at the peak of mid-Yellow Rank. You see..."

"I'm here to do a mission, not to play along with his posturing," Wei Zhao said flatly.

"Kid, I hear you've got some skill—a mid-Yellow Rank expert. But don't think that little bit of strength lets you look down on everyone!" Without waiting for Lazi to speak, the burly man in white robes laughed darkly. "I don't mind telling you—I'm at the peak of mid-Yellow Rank, already close to Great Perfection, just half a step from late Yellow Rank. If you won't submit, then..."

But before the burly man in white robes could finish, a slap landed across his face, and the man spun like a top, whirled several times on the ground from the force of the blow before he finally stopped... and the owner of that slap was, of course, Wei Zhao.

"Lazi, I'm here to do a mission, not to listen to this idiot prattle on. If he keeps this up, don't blame me for being unkind!" Wei Zhao's tone remained utterly calm, as though that slap had not been delivered by his own hand.

Within the squad, Wei Zhao could be neither too low-key nor too high-key; he had to strike just the right balance, so that he would have a certain say in the squad—which would also benefit him when he went up the mountain to continue exploring after the mission was done.

Mid-Yellow Rank strength—it really was mid-Yellow Rank strength! Everyone present was shocked. Wei Zhao, with merely mid-Yellow Rank strength, had struck the burly man in white robes—an expert at the peak of mid-Yellow Rank—so hard that he spun like a top. Such strength was enough to leave anyone shaken!

As for the black-robed and green-robed experts from before, they were now rather relieved—thankfully they had not mocked Wei Zhao too harshly earlier. Who would have thought this fellow was even fiercer than the burly man in white who had come later!

Of course, now that Wei Zhao and the burly man in white robes had come to blows, the two of them were quite pleased. For Wei Zhao's earlier disregard of them, for the burly man's insult—all in all, if these two ended up badly wounded on both sides, that would be for the best.

The burly man in white robes spun several times on the ground before he finally came to a stop. His face flushed red, his eyes filled with disbelief and resentment! In his view, Wei Zhao was merely a mid-Yellow Rank expert—a whole tier below himself—and yet could strike him like this. It had to have been a sneak attack!

"You're asking for death, kid!" Once the burly man in white robes came back to his senses, he grew considerably more wary as well. Forming his hand into a fist, he drove a punch straight at Wei Zhao's face without the slightest intention of holding back—he had been provoked into a fury.

"Boom..." A tremendous crash.

Just when everyone thought Wei Zhao would be smashed into serious injury by the burly man in white, something strange happened once again!

The burly man in white robes was sent flying backward, and on the white robe over his chest was a large footprint—he had been kicked out by Wei Zhao!

Once could be chalked up to unpreparedness and luck—but twice? Even then, the same? Twice is the proof of true strength!

Apart from Sun Jingyan, everyone else realized with a shock: Wei Zhao could fight above his rank! Fighting above one's rank was not all that common among cultivators, but it absolutely existed—and Wei Zhao was clearly one of those people!

"Pff—!" After the burly man in white robes landed, he violently spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his face somewhat pale. He sat on the ground and regulated his breathing for a moment before his complexion returned to normal.

"Neither of those two moves used true qi. Once, twice—but never a third time. If there is a third, you can go die." Wei Zhao looked at the burly man in white robes, his voice still as flat as ever.

No true qi! At these words, the black-robed and green-robed experts' expressions changed again, and even Lazi drew a sharp breath. But the burly man in white robes, the party involved, recalling the earlier scene, knew in his heart of hearts that Wei Zhao had indeed not used true qi—he had sent him flying purely with raw physical strength!

For the fastest updates and ad-free reading, please visit.