Chapter 2324 — What I Fear Is That You Won't Strike
At that thought, the Third Boss no longer feared Wei Zhao. A spent arrow at the end of its flight—why should he fear it? Who couldn't force themselves to hold on? Let them see who laughed last! This was a contest of whose foundation ran deeper and who could endure longer. He, the Third Boss, was a fine expert of peak late Earth-rank strength, while Wei Zhao was merely a mid Earth-rank expert. Even if his martial techniques were formidable, there was no way he could outlast him!
"Fire Wolf's Howl—Tenth Form!" The Third Boss unleashed another Fire Wolf's Howl, driving it straight at Wei Zhao. Once more the two clashed head-on, force against force!
"BOOM—"
Another thunderous crash. Their palms and claws slammed together in an instant and broke apart just as fast!
Wei Zhao spat a mouthful of blood, and so did the Third Boss—only Wei Zhao's face was not so pale, while the Third Boss's countenance was dreadful to behold. Not merely pale, but tinged with a black aura of death!
His internal injuries had not healed, yet he had forced himself to trade blows with Wei Zhao, so of course he would fare badly. But in the Third Boss's estimation, Wei Zhao's condition ought to be far worse than his own—after all, Wei Zhao's rank of strength was plain for all to see.
Naturally, he had not seen Wei Zhao's face. Had he seen it, he would not have thought so.
After Wei Zhao crashed to the ground, he once again swiftly circulated the second layer of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art, rapidly repairing his internal injuries. This time he was far stronger than when he had fought the black-clad man sent after Xu Shilan—first, his strength had grown; second, the might of his martial techniques had risen. If he faced that mid Earth-rank man in black again, Wei Zhao might not kill him in a single blow, but he would certainly not be left in such a sorry state as before!
"Third Boss, how about it? Shall we go again? Let's see who dies?" Wei Zhao rose to his feet once more, looking down on the Third Boss from his height, and asked coldly, his face full of mockery.
"You... impossible..." Seeing Wei Zhao's face, the Third Boss simply could not believe it! He himself could barely stand now—his own complexion was already as ghastly as could be—and yet Wei Zhao could still get up, and what was more, his face looked so well!
Yet despite his boundless bewilderment, seeing Wei Zhao step toward him, the Third Boss had no choice but to force himself upright once more!
He was beginning to regret it. He should not have let his pride drive him to trade blows with Wei Zhao. Who would have thought that though Wei Zhao's strength was weaker, his martial techniques were mighty and his ability to withstand punishment just as mighty? Struck twice by a tenth-form martial technique, he not only looked lightly wounded, but could unleash his martial techniques again. How had mid Earth-rank strength become so formidable in this man's hands?
But now it was too late to run. He was covered in wounds—never mind whether he had the strength to flee; even if he did, turning his back on an enemy was the act of a pure fool. The Third Boss did not want to die without knowing why. At the very least, he would drag someone down with him in death!
"I still don't believe it—a mid Earth-rank, stronger than me at peak late Earth-rank? Is there any justice left in the world?" The Third Boss sucked in a breath, and it filled his body with strength once more. Turning grief and fury into power, he bellowed in unwilling defiance: "Take another Tenth Form of Fire Wolf's Howl from me—I refuse to believe I can't kill you!"
"I'm not afraid you won't believe it—I'm afraid you won't strike." As Wei Zhao spoke, his figure moved as well: the fourth form of the Frenzied Fire Fist. This time Wei Zhao did not unleash the fifth form—after all, the fifth form drained too much stamina, and Wei Zhao was already wounded. Unless it came to a matter of life and death, there was no need to expend his stamina trading blows with the Third Boss. Besides, his martial techniques were a little too powerful now. Though the Third Boss was a fine expert of peak late Earth-rank strength, it was plain that he was not one of the truly formidable peak late Earth-rank experts. In Wei Zhao's eyes, he was not even as formidable as the guardian who had stood up for An Jianwen. So Wei Zhao feared that another fifth form of the Frenzied Fire Eight-Trigram Palm would simply strike the Third Boss dead on the spot!
The Third Boss clearly felt that the force striking his body had diminished greatly—yet even so, he could not withstand it. This time, when he crashed to the ground, his five viscera and meridians were all severely damaged; even had he wished to circulate his true qi, it would not flow smoothly.
Wei Zhao, meanwhile, had repaired himself in time after every injury. This time, though he too looked wretched, coughing blood and falling to the ground, Wei Zhao himself knew that his injuries, grave as they were, were not fatal. Circulating the second layer of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art at speed, he soon restored the major damaged meridians and viscera to near wholeness.
"How about it? Once more?" Wei Zhao strode quickly to the Third Boss and asked.
"Wei Zhao, I underestimated you!" the Third Boss forced out those words with a bitter smile. Even those few words came with immense difficulty—it was plain that his injuries had left him no strength to fight Wei Zhao.
"Do you want to be tortured to death by me, or do you want to live?" Wei Zhao asked.
"Live? There's still a way to live?" The Third Boss was stunned.
"By handing you over to my father-in-law, Feng Tianlong," Wei Zhao said.
"Isn't that still death..." The Third Boss smiled bitterly. "Just a matter of sooner or later..."
"Not necessarily. Die by my hand, and your death will be a long, rhythmic agony. But die by my father-in-law's hand, and it's likely just a bullet," Wei Zhao said.
"Say whatever you want to say. Since I've fallen into your hands, I don't intend to run," the Third Boss said, quite readily.
"Have you seen this man?" Wei Zhao bent down and held the photo of the Pangolin on his phone before the Third Boss's eyes.
The Third Boss looked at Wei Zhao's phone in puzzlement, then shook his head and said, "No, I don't know this man."
"That's all, then. You'd best sleep for now." Wei Zhao knocked the Third Boss out with a single punch. The Third Boss had no true qi left to shield his body; one solid blow from Wei Zhao sent him straight into unconsciousness.
Though he had long guessed that the Third Boss would know nothing of the Pangolin, Wei Zhao could not resist asking. The answer disappointed him, of course, yet it was only reasonable—in the eyes of the Third Boss and his kind, the Pangolin was a nobody. Even if they had crossed hands, they would not remember him.
At that time, Wei Zhao had been no more than a Yellow-rank expert, and the Pangolin had not even set foot in Yellow-rank, or had only just done so. Naturally, a peak late Earth-rank expert like the Third Boss would never have paid him any mind.
After knocking out the Third Boss, Wei Zhao dialed his father-in-law Feng Tianlong's number.
"Xiaoyi? Why are you calling me all of a sudden?" Feng Tianlong found it rather strange to receive Wei Zhao's call—ever since Feng Xiaoxiao had gone to the Ice Palace, the two had seldom been in touch.
For the fastest updates, read without pop-ups at.