Chapter 2924 — The Divine Fist Hall's Decision, Part Two

None of this was any secret; everyone who had taken part in the trial knew it, so Li Ciba had no need to keep it back. "What?! This Wei Zhao is a lone cultivator, and he is actually that formidable? Both Mo Ba and Mo Jiu are finished? And Zhang Naipao still dares not do anything to him? Moreover, he actually defeated Zhang Naipao?" The Peerless Boxing Master's eyes went wide, his face a picture of disbelief. He was wondering just who this Wei Zhao could possibly be, to be so formidable that even the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect dared not touch him. Especially since this was not even the first time Wei Zhao had crushed Zhang Naipao—during the trial at the Ice Palace, Zhang Naipao had already suffered a loss at his hands! And Wei Zhao was still alive and well, which was the part the Peerless Boxing Master found most inconceivable. "Yes," Li Ciba nodded. "In truth, this disciple was puzzled before as well, but after more contact with Leader Wei Zhao, I came to understand: a cultivator's true strength is not actually tied to their rank. Leader Wei Zhao is an Earth-rank expert, yet he can annihilate a mid Heaven-rank expert in an instant." "Wei Zhao... I have never heard of him?" The Peerless Boxing Master tried hard to recall the name Wei Zhao, but found no such figure in his memory; this person had simply appeared out of nowhere, bursting onto the scene. Of course, the Divine Fist Hall had never paid any attention to Wei Zhao before, so it was only natural that they had not heard his name. "Actually, this disciple has questioned his origins as well..." Li Ciba said with a bitter smile. "But according to one of his other underlings, among Leader Wei Zhao's subordinates there are those from hidden clans and those from ordinary clans, which suggests that Leader Wei Zhao must have climbed the path of the strong step by step. At the very least, at the ancient level, his subordinates currently number only three: myself, Feng Shipian, and Ge Xian. There were none before." "Your analysis is sound," the Peerless Boxing Master nodded in agreement. "Then by that reasoning, this Wei Zhao is even more extraordinary—no background behind him, yet able to climb the path of the strong step by step? How am I supposed to believe that?" "But... as things stand, that is how it appears..." Li Ciba said after a moment's hesitation. "As things stand... some things cannot be judged by appearances. Master Wufa, what do you think?" The Peerless Boxing Master turned his head and looked toward the sect's Grand Elder, Master Wufa, who was himself an external expert at the peak of the late Heaven rank, only slightly weaker than the Peerless Boxing Master. The Peerless Boxing Master had already cultivated to the height of Great Perfection, just one step away from the Heaven rank. "Sect Master, in Wufa's view, this Wei Zhao is either a cultivation genius of the sort seen once in ten thousand years, or there is an extremely powerful background behind him that none of us know of! Otherwise, this simply defies all reason!" Master Wufa thought for a moment and said. "An extremely powerful background that none of us know of? Then why can others not uncover it? Would the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect not know?" The Peerless Boxing Master frowned. "The Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect... I do not know whether they know or not, but since they are wary of Wei Zhao, they should know something, should they not?" Master Wufa said after some thought. "No... by all accounts, Wei Zhao should already have been very dominant at the Ice Palace trial. If he had a background, then Zhang Naipao should not have targeted him again at the Xuandan Sect's trial, trying to kill him!" The Peerless Boxing Master waved his hand. "If Wei Zhao truly had an extremely powerful background, would Zhang Naipao still dare to act this way?" "Yet, Sect Master, even if the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect does not know, that does not mean Wei Zhao has no background... Have you forgotten, more than ten years ago, that affair when two Heaven-rank experts swept through the ancient sects? Was not the Invincible Sect Master of that year carried off by them..." Master Wufa shook his head again and said, "Those two appeared out of thin air and vanished into thin air! Who knew of their existence before that? By all accounts, they were among the top external cultivators, at the pinnacle of mastery or even beyond the utmost limits of mastery as we understand it—yet even our Divine Fist Hall knew nothing of the existence of two such formidable external experts!" "That is true enough!" The Peerless Boxing Master hesitated, sinking into thought. After a good while, he turned to Li Ciba and said, "Ciba, you have done very well this time! Do not let your bond with this Wei Zhao break—keep in frequent contact with him. But remember: you represent yourself, not our Divine Fist Hall! Until that person's true background is known, or until that person reveals strength sufficient to look down upon the ancient level, you may not associate with him under the name of the Divine Fist Hall!" "Yes, Master, this disciple understands!" Li Ciba was overjoyed. He had already felt that acknowledging Wei Zhao as his leader would not draw opposition from the sect, but he had never expected things to go so smoothly, or that his master, the Peerless Boxing Master, would agree so readily. Of course, Li Ciba did not dwell on the Peerless Boxing Master's subsequent caveat—after all, the Divine Fist Hall was among the foremost of the ancient sects, and to acknowledge a lone cultivator as leader in the sect's name would carry far too great a consequence. To associate with Wei Zhao in his own personal name was already the greatest latitude the Divine Fist Hall could grant Li Ciba. "Ah, it is only a pity about your junior brother, killed by Zhang Naipao—but Mo Ba and Mo Jiu are both finished, so the vengeance has been taken, after all!" The Peerless Boxing Master sighed. "Also, this Great Return Pill—keep it yourself. It is what you deserve; there is no need to hand it over to the sect!" "Ah? How can that be?" Li Ciba was stunned, somewhat at a loss. "Furthermore, starting tomorrow, come cultivate under me. From now on, you shall count as one of my closed-door disciples, with the same treatment as the others!" The Peerless Boxing Master was a man who knew the times, and he had perceived that there was something unusual about Wei Zhao, so he began preparing to cultivate the Li Ciba connection. "Ah? Thank you, Master..." Li Ciba was both startled and delighted, and hurriedly fell to his knees. He had never dreamed that acknowledging Wei Zhao as his leader would bring him such abundant and immense benefits! Master Wufa did not object either; on the contrary, he fully approved of the Peerless Boxing Master's decision, and said with a faint smile, "When you have occasion to see Wei Zhao, thank him on my behalf for avenging my disciple! In this matter I could not step forward to take revenge myself; ordinarily I could only swallow my anger and accept it, but this time he has given me a chance to vent my frustration!" "Yes, Grand Elder, this disciple will certainly convey your meaning!" Li Ciba said hurriedly. …………………… At the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect, after Zhang Naipao returned, his mood was rather low. He merely greeted Zhong Yongliang and the Pure Yang Heavenly Venerable before shutting himself in his room, saying nothing, looking for all the world as though he had lost his father and was waiting to die. (To be continued. 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