Chapter 2144 — Stirring Restlessly

Of course. And now that Wei Zhao had reached the Earth Rank, such a phenomenon could only arise when he used compressed true qi to force someone through a breakthrough to the Earth Rank—except that Wei Zhao had not yet mastered the method of forcing others to break through to the Earth Rank.

Otherwise, Wei Zhao would not have traded for so many minor Qi-Gathering Pills at this Hidden World Clan Summit.

"Is the leader about to break through?" Han Xiaopo was startled at the sight, and hurriedly planted himself on guard before Wei Zhao, looking as though he would defend him to the death and serve as his guardian. Han Tianba, seeing this as well, leaped up to the front of the arena and took his place at Wei Zhao's side.

As for Tang Yuyi, after a bitter internal struggle, he slowly walked toward the arena...

Old Master Tang furrowed his brow and raised a hand as if to call Tang Yuyi back, but in the end he let his arm fall, sighed, and did not stop him.

"What... what are you doing?" Tang Yuyi's approach gave Han Xiaopo a fright; he thought the man meant Wei Zhao harm—after all, the hidden Tang family had been targeting Wei Zhao all along.

"I... have come to help you guard him." Tang Yuyi's feelings were tangled. Wei Zhao was, in a sense, his brother-in-law, and at this Hidden World Clan Summit he had leaned in Tang Yuyi's favor every time they traded. By both sentiment and reason, Tang Yuyi could not simply stand by.

"Old Master Tang, this grandson of yours seems unable to tell friend from foe?" Old Master You remarked mildly, watching Tang Yuyi mount the arena.

"Blind loyalty, unable to tell friend from foe, this child..." Though Old Master Tang privately thought that Tang Yuyi's act left the Tang family a sliver of hope, outwardly he could only shake his head. "In-law, you know as well as I... that boy Yuyi... is not the least bit like his father!"

"Old Master Tang, are you saying, then, that he takes after me?" After all, Tang Yuyi's father was You Xiaoxin, Old Master You's daughter! A married daughter was water poured out, and Tang Yuyi's ties to the hidden You family were no longer of much consequence, but ties there still were—so Tang Yuyi's conduct left Old Master You quite helpless. The boy was his own daughter's son; he could hardly speak too harshly of him.

Old Master Tang shook his head and did not pursue the matter, saying instead, "Wei Zhao's strength—have you seen it?"

"He is breaking through from the peak of the early Earth Rank, charging toward the mid Earth Rank..." Before Old Master You could speak, Old Master Zhao had already opened his mouth.

"Could it be that all our earlier estimates were wrong, and Wei Zhao is merely an expert at the peak of the early Earth Rank?" Old Master Yu frowned, finding it somewhat inconceivable.

"Where does he look like an expert at the peak of the mid Earth Rank?" Sect Master Wo said venomously. "My disciple's man-beast unity technique with that spirit wolf could stand against even an expert at the peak of the early Heaven Rank—and this Wei Zhao, at the peak of the early Earth Rank, is still not dead?"

"That is precisely what puzzles me!" Old Master You neither confirmed nor denied, saying only with an unreadable expression, "But from his present condition, he is indeed charging toward the mid Earth Rank. Most of those present are inner-family cultivators—surely you can all sense it?"

"Indeed!" Old Master Yu nodded. "The sense cannot be mistaken: it is the peak of the early Earth Rank breaking through to the mid Earth Rank. Yet there is something I still cannot quite fathom..."

"If Wei Zhao truly is this weak, there will be ample chance for revenge later... heh..." Old Master Zhao gave a sinister chuckle. "This Wei Zhao holds certain trump cards—at the Mystic Rank he could slay experts below the Earth Rank, and at the Earth Rank killing experts below the Heaven Rank would be no difficult feat either. But... if several experts at the peak of the late Earth Rank fought him at once, I daresay..."

"Have you forgotten the killing move with which Wei Zhao struck down Ma Dashen?" Old Master You threw cold water on the notion. "That move—never mind several experts at the peak of the late Earth Rank; add a Heaven Rank and I still would not wager they could withdraw unscathed. They would likely be wounded!"

"If only we could take this chance to kill him..." Jin Gangzuan had at some point come to stand behind the group, and he spoke mildly, a note of instigation in his words.

"Kill him now? At the Hidden World Clan Summit—barring an accident during a match, do you dare kill at will?" Old Master Zhao sneered. "If we move, we wait until this Hidden World Clan Summit is over. I am the host; to kill a man here, I could hardly clear myself of involvement!"

It was not that Old Master Zhao did not wish Wei Zhao dead, but that killing him now was simply not worth it—to bring down the sanctions of the ancient sects upon himself would be to lose more than he gained. So by no means could he let anyone move against Wei Zhao during the Hidden World Clan Summit!

He hated Wei Zhao, yes, but this was a shared hatred—why should the hidden Zhao family alone bear the blame? If it came to that, the charge of mishandling the Hidden World Clan Summit would be laid at the hidden Zhao family's door, and to be marked by the ancient sects was in no way a good thing!

The ancient sects of today were not the ancient sects of thirteen years ago, when they had passed through that great upheaval. A new generation of Heaven Rank experts had sprung up like clouds, and experts at the peak of the late Heaven Rank had emerged in no small number. In their eyes, an early Heaven Rank expert like Old Master Zhao was truly not worth much!

This too was why he insisted that no move be made against Wei Zhao before the Hidden World Clan Summit ended! Besides, the Qian Mountain Sect had already taken it upon itself to deal with Wei Zhao, and there was still the final added match—how splendid it would be if Wei Zhao were killed then by the Qian Mountain Sect's ancient spirit beast?

No one would bear responsibility, no trouble would be drawn down upon anyone—that was the most perfect outcome. Why risk it now?

"Indeed, Sect Master Wo of the Qian Mountain Sect has already agreed to set a trap in the final match. Let us not be hasty," Old Master Yu said mildly. After all, Old Master Zhao was his in-law, and at such a moment he could hardly refrain from speaking on his behalf.

And most importantly, as Old Master Yu watched Wei Zhao's meteoric rise, his alarm only grew! To have the strength to challenge an early Heaven Rank expert while at the peak of the early Earth Rank—such a genius was rare even among the ancient sects!

How splendid it would be if the hidden Yu family could ally with Wei Zhao—but plainly that was impossible. Old Master Yu shook his head. He had considered the matter of his family's grievance with Wei Zhao more than once, and turn it over as he might, there was no solution.

First, the affair between Wei Zhao and Yu Ning was the greatest obstacle. Yu Ning could not marry; she must remain a virgin—that place had warned of it time and again!

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