Chapter 2826 — In High Spirits

So Zhang Naipao sat cross-legged on the ground and cultivated, while Mo Ba stood guard at his side, and the two Dark Night Palace disciples took up positions at the entrance to the safe zone, waiting for more trial-goers to deliver themselves into their hands.

Sure enough, before long, voices came drifting in from outside once again.

Had Wei Zhao been there, he would have recognized the newcomers at once: Li Ciba and Zhao Qitan of the Divine Fist Hall! The two had run into each other on the way to the safe zone. Though they had been teleported to different spots, their general direction had been much the same, and so, without any prior arrangement, they had fallen in together as they pressed on toward the safe zone.

Both were elated to see the safe zone marked on their maps. After all, they had each obtained a trial spirit herb and made it here without mishap—cause for real celebration, especially for Zhao Qitan, who at the outset had never imagined he could successfully claim a trial spirit herb, let alone find his way to the safe zone.

All of it left him feeling profoundly fortunate.

"We're finally here, Brother Li. I wonder whether the others have made it?" Zhao Qitan said with a touch of emotion as he arrived at the safe zone.

"True enough, who knows? Let's go and have a look first," Li Ciba said.

With that, the two walked into the safe zone—but the moment they saw the two Dark Night Palace disciples standing guard at the entrance, they visibly froze!

"What's this you're doing...?" Li Ciba recognized the two Dark Night Palace disciples, so he asked in some puzzlement.

"You've come here to rest, have you?" Dark Night Palace Disciple A barked, borrowing the tiger's ferocity to bully them. "We are subordinates of Brother Pao, Zhang Naipao. There's no problem with resting here, but you must hand over your trial spirit herbs! Of course, if you don't have any trial spirit herbs, then get lost!"

Li Ciba had been irked by the Dark Night Palace disciples' arrogant manner, but when he heard them say they were Zhang Naipao's subordinates, his expression clearly stiffened. Zhang Naipao was here?

He and Zhao Qitan looked up and peered inside, and sure enough, there was Zhang Naipao sitting on the ground in cultivation, with his subordinate Mo Ba standing beside him—and not far away, a corpse! Wasn't that Young Hero Yang of Flame Mountain?

Li Ciba was of course no stranger to him. The corners of his mouth twitched twice. It seemed Young Hero Yang had also fallen for Zhang Naipao's tricks, clashed with him here, and been finished off by him!

Zhao Qitan was weak in cultivation, and with Wei Zhao absent, he naturally deferred to Li Ciba. He looked up at Li Ciba, at a loss as to what to do. Zhao Qitan had been rather cheerful before; all the way to the safe zone, he had thought he could finally relax a little—but who would have guessed they would run into Zhang Naipao here?

And Li Ciba felt the same. This was what they meant by foes meeting with eyes inflamed. His fellow disciple had been crippled by Zhang Naipao and carried back to the sect before he could even take part in the trial—but Wei Zhao was not at his side now. Li Ciba had no patron and no pillar of support, and he was no fool. To force a confrontation with Zhang Naipao at this moment would bring him no benefit whatsoever. After a moment's hesitation, he said: "Fine. We will hand our trial spirit herbs over to Brother Pao. We will rest here."

"Hmph, at least you know what's good for you!" Dark Night Palace Disciple A broke into laughter and, with immense self-satisfaction, confiscated the trial spirit herbs from Li Ciba and Zhao Qitan and handed them to Zhang Naipao.

Seeing Li Ciba and Zhao Qitan obediently surrender their trial spirit herbs, Zhang Naipao did not press them further. True, he had the ability to wipe them out, but it would come at a cost. The Bee-Devouring Divine Art was formidable, but it could only drain cultivators below the earth tier; used on anyone at earth tier or above, it risked bursting his body and killing him. So Zhang Naipao no longer used the Bee-Devouring Divine Art lightly, especially after the one time he had been made to suffer at Wei Zhao's hands.

What he now relied on chiefly was another of his wondrous martial arts. That technique was domineering enough, but it was the sort that wounded the enemy a thousand while costing himself eight hundred; if there was any way to avoid it, Zhang Naipao would not use it lightly, and intimidation alone would suffice.

Besides, he had just been wounded; to be wounded again now would surely be hard to bear. As for that ultimate technique he kept hidden at the very bottom of his box, he had no intention of using it—it was his final trump card, and he would not use it unless he absolutely had to.

Setting aside that using it would expose his ultimate hidden technique, a single use alone would consume an enormous amount of physical strength and true qi. And so Zhang Naipao chose to spare Li Ciba and Zhao Qitan.

Still, a few mocking words were well within his rights. Zhang Naipao looked at Li Ciba and Zhao Qitan and said with faint derision: "Don't imagine that just because you've thrown in your lot with Wei Zhao, you're safe. I mean to destroy Wei Zhao as well. And don't delude yourselves that his coming here will let him avenge you—it's useless."

Li Ciba and Zhao Qitan exchanged a glance and offered no retort. At this moment, retorting would be useless. The proper course was to wait until Wei Zhao arrived and then push back; otherwise, no matter how eloquently they spoke now, it would avail them nothing.

Besides, their chief purpose now was to stay alive. A few retorts might bring momentary satisfaction, but to be killed for them would hardly be worth the price.

Seeing Li Ciba and Zhao Qitan fall silent, Zhang Naipao did not go on. He merely said to Mo Ba: "So we have four trial spirit herbs now?"

"Yes, Brother Pao," Mo Ba answered promptly and respectfully.

"Mm." Zhang Naipao nodded, took another trial spirit herb from his pack, and handed it to Mo Ba, saying: "Return this one to the Dark Night Palace disciples. They may have been that fellow Yang of Flame Mountain's lackeys before, but they have seen the error of their ways and reined in their horses at the cliff's edge, turning from darkness to the light in good time to become my, Zhang Naipao's, subordinates. I have always taken very good care of my subordinates—follow me, and the benefits are enormous!"

"Ah!?" The two Dark Night Palace disciples had thought Zhang Naipao was merely talking before, never expecting him to put it into action so soon. Overjoyed, Dark Night Palace Disciple A hastened to say gratefully: "Thank you, Brother Pao! It's so good to follow Brother Pao!"

"That's right, far better than following that Wei Zhao fellow. Just look at these two—how pitiful! Haha!" Dark Night Palace Disciple B chimed in with flattery.

In doing this, Zhang Naipao had actually meant it for Li Ciba and Zhao Qitan to see. He had not said so outright and had been on the point of hinting at it, when Dark Night Palace Disciple B beat him to it and said it for him—which put him in excellent spirits at once!

To Zhang Naipao's mind, if he could turn Wei Zhao's subordinates against their master and make them his own, what a splendid thing that would be! When Wei Zhao saw it, he would probably be so furious his nose would twist out of joint, wouldn't he? This was simply the finest means of striking at Wei Zhao! (To be continued)

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