Chapter 3713 — Laughing to the End

Xu Lingchong had originally felt a little regretful. Judging from Wei Zhao's performance just now, at most he could have inflicted serious injuries on him, but he would not have been able to kill him. Yet now this Wei Zhao fellow had actually sat back down halfway through. He was practically begging for death!

Calamities brought by Heaven may be forgiven; calamities brought upon oneself are beyond saving. Since that idiot Wei Zhao insisted on courting death, no one could blame anyone else.

With that, Xu Lingchong turned toward Shangguan Lan'er and ingratiatingly said, "That idiot Wei Zhao actually dared provoke our junior sister Lan'er before. He truly had no idea how to stay alive. And now he's overestimating himself by stubbornly hanging on up there. What a magnificent way to court death. No one could stop him even if they tried. It just happens to let you, Junior Sister, vent some of your anger!"

Shangguan Lan'er was currently struggling with whether she ought to step forward and save Wei Zhao. Hearing this, she shot him a glance. "You arranged all this?"

"Heh heh, you could say that. But I never told him to sit back down. As the old saying goes, if you don't court death, you won't die. If he hadn't cooperated so beautifully, there really wouldn't have been anything I could do to him!" Xu Lingchong spoke in a low voice, unable to conceal his smugness.

Shangguan Lan'er frowned. Although she was worried about Wei Zhao's safety, she thought that since this had been his own choice, she should wait and see for a little longer. She had not spent much time with Wei Zhao, but her instincts told her that he was absolutely not the sort of idiot who would overestimate himself like this.

She had already made up her mind: even if Wei Zhao had truly miscalculated this time, she would wait until she was certain he was in danger before stepping forward to call a halt.

At this moment, Miserable Senior Brother and the others were thinking much the same way. Compared with Shangguan Lan'er, they knew Wei Zhao no less well, and they understood that he would never act so recklessly without confidence. There had to be a reason for what he was doing now.

Even so, despite believing in Wei Zhao, they could not help feeling worried. This was no joking matter!

Meanwhile, Meng Tong and the other Qingyun Pavilion newcomers were taking turns mocking him, bringing every ounce of their contempt to bear.

Recalling how Wei Zhao had used that false aura of an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator to frighten and extort them during the trial in the rear mountains, they could not help grinding their teeth in hatred. Now that they were watching him bring disaster upon himself, the sight was simply too satisfying!

The only exception among them was Li Zhengming. Although he appeared to be curling his lips in a cold sneer as well, he was not laughing at Wei Zhao. He was laughing at the utterly ridiculous idiots around him.

Of everyone present, including Miserable Senior Brother and the others, he alone knew Wei Zhao's true strength. Wei Zhao was a freak who had broken through to the peak of the early Foundation Establishment stage in barely a month after entering the Newcomer Pavilion. How could a crowd of mediocre people like them possibly understand anything he did?

Li Zhengming felt as though he were watching a flock of sparrows mock a great roc for overestimating itself, never realizing that the roc truly possessed the ability to soar ninety thousand li into the heavens.

Whenever you look down your nose at someone like that, the real idiot is the person staring back at you from the mirror.

Unlike the people below the platform, who knew nothing of the circumstances, the Enforcement Hall experts onstage were not merely mocking and sneering at Wei Zhao's performance. They were thoroughly bewildered by it, and sincerely unable to understand what they were seeing.

One had to understand that the oppressive force above Wei Zhao's head had already been increased to more than eight times its original strength. Forget an early-stage Foundation Establishment newcomer like him; even these Enforcement Hall experts themselves felt they might not be able to withstand it!

Wei Zhao had managed to reach this point, so he should not have been a complete idiot. Even if he truly wanted to die, why would he choose such an absurd way to do it in a setting like this?

Yet what happened next left everyone utterly dumbfounded.

After Wei Zhao sat back down, his expression unexpectedly became exceedingly relaxed. Not only did he show no sign of being crushed, but his complexion actually began to improve by the moment.

What the hell was going on?

For a time, no one below the platform knew what to say. Xu Lingchong and the others, who had been shouting at the top of their lungs about what an idiot Wei Zhao was, suddenly went silent, like ducks seized by the neck. They did not even know how to quack anymore.

Looking at the speechless crowd, Li Zhengming nearly laughed himself sick. As expected of Wei Zhao leading the way, that slap to their faces was spectacularly crisp!

By now, even an ordinary person could see that Wei Zhao was showing no sign of failing whatsoever. If anything, he was doing far too well. Sitting up there was no different from taking a leisurely vacation. He was under absolutely no pressure.

Shangguan Lan'er, Miserable Senior Brother, and the others who stood on Wei Zhao's side finally let out a sigh of relief. That fellow Wei Zhao had truly taken them on one hell of a roller-coaster ride.

A short while later, the fifth incense stick was lit. Even Kang Zhaoming and Zhong Yongliang, who had not been affected by the increased pressure, finally reached their limits and withdrew one after another. With that, Wei Zhao was the only person left on the platform.

Xu Lingchong, Hu Yunfeng, and the others exchanged glances. Their faces had turned livid, darkening almost to black.

What the hell was going on? Had they not agreed to deal with Wei Zhao and kill him? How had things suddenly become like this?

Xu Lingchong could not even help wondering whether those fellows onstage were actually doing anything to help him.

Otherwise, Wei Zhao had clearly reached his limit just now. If they truly wanted to deal with him, applying even a little more pressure would have been enough. There was no way he should have been able to remain there so effortlessly until now!

Sensing the pressure coming from Xu Lingchong below the platform, the Enforcement Hall experts exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and increased the oppressive force by another substantial margin: twelvefold pressure!

This was the absolute limit of what they could control. If they released the restrictions any further, the force would exceed their ability to control it, and they themselves might suffer severe backlash.

In any case, there was no one else left in the arena now, so they had no need to worry about anyone else. All they had to do was focus on this sinister Wei Zhao. They refused to believe that the boy could withstand even twelvefold pressure!

In the several hundred years since the Enforcement Hall had been founded, there had never been a case of a mere early-stage Foundation Establishment expert enduring pressure of this intensity. Forget the early stage; even a peak, late-stage, fully perfected Foundation Establishment expert could not do it!

Yet another incense stick of time passed, and Wei Zhao still did not move an inch. His expression remained natural and his breathing steady, as though he were no different from when he had first entered the arena.

Everyone present was utterly speechless by now. Their faces flushed red one after another, anger and humiliation twisting their features.