Chapter 2416 — A Plan That Kills Two Birds with One Stone

It was only that what Wei Zhao studied were certain original insights the white-collar instructor raised in class, along with the odd digressions and curious anecdotes he let slip from time to time, which gave Wei Zhao a refreshing sense of novelty. As for the notes Wang Xinyan had taken, they were all rigid, by-the-book knowledge — but Wei Zhao knew all of it already, so after flipping through a few pages he closed the notebook.

Wei Zhao's chief aim now was cultivation. As for this knowledge of pharmacology and medicinal properties, he no longer set much store by it; his own medical skill was already more than sufficient for everyday healing, and he could not become an alchemist for the time being, so his enthusiasm for study had faded. Cultivation, on the other hand, was the goal Wei Zhao pursued without fail, so he had best seize this excellent opportunity and throw himself into training.

Seeing Wei Zhao close his eyes, Wang Xinyan knew he was cultivating. She hesitated a moment, then slipped off her jacket and, feigning casualness, shifted her body a little toward Wei Zhao — though her faintly trembling form gave her away. Wei Zhao might have had his eyes shut, but that did not hinder his perception of everything around him; he did not even miss the novel points the white-collar instructor raised.

Wang Xinyan's move set Wei Zhao's heart at ease, and at the same time puzzled him. Since Wang Xinyan was just as before, still willing to help him cultivate in this somewhat embarrassing fashion, then why had she insisted on bringing up that fiancé of hers, Kang Zhaolong?

Unable to work it out for the moment, Wei Zhao could only let it be and watch matters unfold slowly. A girl's heart is not for guessing — how true that proved. The more one guessed, the more one only tangled oneself in confusion.

The white-collar instructor had long grown accustomed to Wei Zhao sitting through class with his eyes closed, but Wei Zhao had passed his examination — he need not even attend class if he chose — so naturally the instructor paid it no mind.

Kang Zhaolong took a seat beside You Panhu. Though Kang Zhaoming had been taken as a closed-door disciple by the Fifth Elder of the Xuandan Sect, which made him proud and had involuntarily raised his own standing a great deal, before You Panhu, Kang Zhaolong still did not dare carry himself too presumptuously.

He was no fool. The Kang family might look formidable now, but however one put it, the Kang family's foundation was far too thin, while the You family was an old-line hidden clan and a clan of alchemists besides, held in high regard even by the Xuandan Sect — naturally not something the Kang family of this moment could compare with.

Of course, if Kang Zhaoming one day truly rose to great heights and became one of the Xuandan Sect's elders, then Kang Zhaolong would certainly no longer face You Panhu from a slightly lower posture.

"Brother You, we meet for the first time — I hope you will look after me!" Though the two had spoken by phone before, this was their first meeting in person; previously they had only seen photographs.

"Ha ha, Brother Kang jests. It is Brother Kang who will be looking after our You family from now on!" You Panhu was not the head of the You family and would at most rank among its elders in the future, but Kang Zhaolong was a different matter. Kang Zhaoming had gone off to the Xuandan Sect to serve as an elder and could not possibly return to head the Kang family, so the head of the Kang family would surely be Kang Zhaolong and no one else. Thus You Panhu did not put on airs either.

"We shall look after each other." Kang Zhaolong chuckled. "By the way, Brother You, I hear Wang Xinyan and Wei Zhao have grown very close?"

"Mm, they are indeed very close," You Panhu said with a nod. "Brother Kang, there is one thing I ought to remind you of — Wang Xinyan is your betrothed, after all, and mixing about with Wei Zhao like that, it is hardly proper!"

"Indeed, Brother You. You know my family's circumstances as well — our Kang family used to count for nothing more than a bottom-tier clan, and it is only thanks to my younger brother Zhaoming that we have just now come up in the world. So if I were to pit myself head-on against Wei Zhao, I would be no match for him!" Kang Zhaolong did not conceal it but spoke plainly. "Wei Zhao is a cultivator, after all. If I fought him, even though Zhaoming could seek revenge afterward, I would still be the one losing out right now!"

"That is true enough!" You Panhu nodded. "I will not hide it from you — that brat Wei Zhao is a strange one, and I have taken my share of losses at his hands. If it comes to force, none of us are his match; unless a Heaven-rank expert steps in, there is simply no beating him! You know of the hidden Zhao family? Their Elder Bi, at the peak of the late Earth rank, was crippled by Wei Zhao in a single move. That boy's strength is such that I fear even an early Heaven-rank expert is no match for him!"

"Hisss—" Kang Zhaolong drew a sharp breath, his head clearing considerably in an instant! Even an early Heaven-rank expert was no match? Thank goodness he had not provoked the man — otherwise he would not have known how he died!

"But you need not worry." You Panhu waved a hand. "The rules of the white-collar instructor's class — you understand them, I understand them, and Wei Zhao understands them too. He cannot lay a hand on you! Dirty tricks are one thing, but if he actually struck, the white-collar instructor would never permit it. What the white-collar instructor loathes most is fellow students killing one another!"

"That is so..." Kang Zhaolong naturally understood this as well. "But what background does the white-collar instructor actually have, that he can overawe Wei Zhao?"

"The white-collar instructor? Heh heh — you know how formidable the Xuandan Sect is?" You Panhu paused there. "Even the Xuandan Sect's patriarchs of Heaven, Earth, and Man hold him in great respect. He was once a peak-level alchemist in the martial world, and I hear he came from a higher plane — though that is only rumor; no one knows for certain."

"Oh?" Kang Zhaolong was startled. He had known the white-collar instructor was formidable, but only in academic circles — the man's scholarship was indeed formidable. He had not known the instructor once bore such a distinguished identity! He found it rather strange. "Then how is he now just an ordinary teacher?"

"It seems something went wrong during an alchemy session, and his meridians were injured by a qi deviation..." You Panhu said. "I am not too clear on the details. In any case, you know he is formidable, and that Wei Zhao dares not harm us!"

"That is good, then!" Kang Zhaolong breathed a sigh of relief at this, and in his heart began scheming how he might get Wang Xinyan into his grasp and make Wei Zhao lose face utterly.

"Wei Zhao is not only on good terms with Wang Xinyan; he is on good terms with Han Jingyi as well. I intend to pursue Han Jingyi — that way Wei Zhao cannot attend to both sides at once. You and I will strike together, and it will count as doing Brother Kang a favor!" You Panhu had long wanted to settle scores with Wei Zhao, and besides, making contact with Han Jingyi was a task from his own family. With an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone like this, he naturally would not let it pass.

Sure enough, Kang Zhaolong was overjoyed at this. "Excellent! That way Wei Zhao will be attacked front and rear — one he attends to, he cannot attend to the other. With the two of us pursuing at once, the time will surely come when he slips!"

"That is what I thought as well. But how we go about it will take careful planning," You Panhu said. RQ

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