Chapter 2750 — Intimidation

Of course, what made Lin Dongfang's name resound throughout the ancient sects was not his fame as a divine physician, but another, far more terrifying legend...

"That's all we can do," Ancestor Xuanzhen said with a sigh. "We'll do our best. If it truly can't be done, I'll call Senior Brother Xuantian again—I really am a little reluctant to lose face over this."

"All right, I'll tell him right away," the Silkworm said with a nod.

When Kang Zhaoming received the Silkworm's reply, he was struck dumb. Ancestor Xuanzhen had no solution either? In Kang Zhaoming's mind, Ancestor Xuanzhen was the very model of a divine physician—and even he was at his wit's end? Yet he had already made such grand promises!

He had assumed that on this mission, using Wang Xinyan's illness as leverage, he could trade back the true pill formula in Wei Zhao's hands without the slightest effort. But who could have imagined... Remembering what Wei Zhao had said before—that if he failed to cure her, he would be kicked to death—Kang Zhaoming felt a flicker of fear.

Yet fearful or not, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and keep negotiating terms with Wei Zhao. This was his mission, after all; he could hardly slink back to the Xuan Dan Sect in disgrace.

"Found a way already? That was quick," Wei Zhao said mockingly, watching Kang Zhaoming. As a late-stage Earth-rank expert, Wei Zhao could eavesdrop on Kang Zhaoming's phone call without the slightest difficulty. He was not the sort who liked prying into others' private affairs, but with Kang Zhaoming he felt no need for courtesy.

Though Wei Zhao could not hear what was said on the other end of the line, the sight of Kang Zhaoming's face—like a frostbitten eggplant—told him plainly that no cure for Wang Xinyan had been found.

"Uh... Wei Zhao, here's the thing. I've thought it over carefully, and curing Wang Xinyan is a long, drawn-out process. Making that the condition for exchanging pill formulas with you is a bit unfair—after all, Wang Xinyan is my sister-in-law. So I'll treat her slowly from now on! You won't have to pay any price at all," Kang Zhaoming explained. "So I've decided: I'll treat her free of charge, out of pure duty."

"Oh? Then you don't want the pill formula anymore?" Wei Zhao asked, regarding Kang Zhaoming with amusement.

"Uh... of course I want it. But I'll trade you something else for it," Kang Zhaoming said with a grin. "What do you say? Aren't I good to you?"

"Good, my ass!" Wei Zhao sent a kick into Kang Zhaoming's body, sending him sprawling. "You playing games with me? You think I don't know you can't cure her? I've been putting up with you for Wang Xinyan's sake all this time!"

Kang Zhaoming was knocked head over heels by Wei Zhao's kick, but he was a Heaven-rank adept. Though he lacked any offensive power, his defensive ability was considerable; he was merely thrown into a sorry state, without suffering any serious injury.

"You... how can you just kick people at random? I never said I couldn't cure her!" Kang Zhaoming said, inwardly uneasy. In a fight he was no match for Wei Zhao—Heaven-rank mid-stage or not, he had no offensive martial techniques at all, and calling the Xuan Dan Sect for backup was out of the question. Ancestor Xuanzhen's attitude had been perfectly clear: an fair exchange of pill formulas with Wei Zhao, not a robbery. So Kang Zhaoming could only grit his teeth and endure.

In an instant, he and Wei Zhao—who had been enduring him all this while—had traded places.

"You were on the phone with some 'Little Taohong' next door—did you think I couldn't hear?" Wei Zhao curled his lip. "I never would have guessed, Kang Zhaoming. Not long in the Xuan Dan Sect, and you're already cozying up to the people around the young sect master?"

"You..." Only then did Kang Zhaoming realize that Wei Zhao was a genuine late-stage Earth-rank expert, to whom hearing sounds from the next room was child's play—nothing like a Heaven-rank mid-stage expert who had true qi and nothing else. "Fine. You've had your kick, and I can't cure her. Satisfied?"

Kang Zhaolong's expression shifted slightly. He had intended to use Kang Zhaoming's curing of Wang Xinyan to strike a blow at Wei Zhao and to build up the Kang family's prestige in Wang Xinyan's eyes. Instead, Kang Zhaoming had turned out to be such a spineless weakling, still speaking softly even after being kicked by Wei Zhao. For a moment, Kang Zhaolong could not tell whether it was Wei Zhao who had come from the ancient sect or Kang Zhaoming!

Little did he know that Kang Zhaoming had grievances he could not voice. His mission here was to trade for the pill formula with Wei Zhao. If he offended Wei Zhao and the man refused to trade, then even if the Xuan Dan Sect later sent experts to seize the formula by force, his position within the sect would plummet for having botched the job.

So to win the Silkworm's trust, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and endure.

Kang Zhaoming's complete about-face left Wei Zhao somewhat taken aback. Could this pill formula really be so important to him? Or rather, so important to the Xuan Dan Sect?

Previously, in Wei Zhao's view, he had already given Kang Zhaoming one pill formula, so giving him another similar one would do no harm; that was why he had agreed so readily to Kang Zhaoming's terms. But now Wei Zhao began to scheme inwardly: it seemed this formula could be used to extort something worthwhile in return.

"Oh. If you can't cure her, then you can get lost," Wei Zhao said bluntly, deliberately saying nothing about the pill formula.

"Don't be like that! If I can't cure her, let's discuss some other way for me to trade for the formula, all right?" Kang Zhaoming's expression changed at once.

"Can't cure her and you still want the formula? You think being a Heaven-rank adept means you can just take it by force?" Wei Zhao shot him a sidelong glance and asked mildly, "Haven't you heard that I can kill Heaven-rank adepts in a single strike? At the peak of Earth-rank mid-stage I could already finish off early-stage Heaven-rank experts. Now that I'm late-stage Earth-rank, dealing with a mid-stage Heaven-rank should be no trouble at all—and finishing off trash like you even less."

"Don't... Wei Zhao, Leader Wei Zhao, let's talk this over! Would I dare? I'm only trying to reason with you nicely, aren't I? We're old friends—don't go flying into violence at the drop of a hat. It's not good, and it's uncivilized..." Kang Zhaoming jumped in fright and hurriedly said, "Besides, I'm the Eighth Elder of the Xuan Dan Sect. Killing me won't do you any good... The sect will definitely come after you."

"Oh, that's simple enough. When they come, I'll just give them the pill formula. Once they can refine the Marrow-Washing Bone-Cleansing Pill themselves, what would they need you for? You'd just be dead, that's all," Wei Zhao said indifferently.

"Gah!" Kang Zhaoming's face went deathly pale. After hearing Wei Zhao's words, his legs began to tremble—he truly feared Wei Zhao might kill him! By Wei Zhao's logic, once the Xuan Dan Sect obtained the pill formula as compensation, they would surely drop the matter entirely. Wouldn't he have died for nothing?

At that thought, Kang Zhaoming hastily said, "That... that won't happen! I'm the Eighth Elder, after all. If I died and the Xuan Dan Sect did nothing, it would damage the reputation of an ancient sect..."

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