Chapter 1688 — Still No Way

This was precisely what worried Wei Zhao most. If he had four Earth-rank fighters at his command—Qiu Lingcan, Chen Yutian, Wu Chentian, and Uncle Qing—they would constitute a considerable deterrent to the Hidden Yu Family. At the very least, the Hidden Yu Family would have to weigh the consequences before making a move against him. Unless one of their Heaven-rank experts came forward, Wei Zhao and the others would have the strength to put up a fight.

Once Wei Zhao had repaired Uncle Qing's meridians, Uncle Qing let out a long breath and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "I didn't break through? I failed? How about we try again? I can endure it. Even if I fail, it won't matter. You can repair me again..."

Uncle Qing noticed the disappointment in Wei Zhao's eyes and asked about it.

"There's no need to try again. This method won't work." Wei Zhao shook his head with a bitter smile. "I once used this method to try to break through myself, but I failed then, too. It seems the meridians of a Profound-rank expert have a limit to how much they can withstand. They simply can't bear such a tremendous compression of energy..."

"Late Profound-rank peak is more than enough for me!" Uncle Qing said, stretching his arms. "To tell you the truth, from the moment my cultivation was crippled all those years ago, and later when I began training in external martial arts, I never once imagined that I would one day become a late Profound-rank peak expert!"

"Heh... Uncle Qing, you don't need to comfort me. I'm merely a little disappointed." Wei Zhao sighed. "Besides, it's not a big deal. Late Profound rank is late Profound rank. It's good enough for now. Get some rest. I'll go back and think of another way."

"All right. You should get some rest early, too..." Uncle Qing could see that Wei Zhao was unwilling to give up so easily, and said no more.

After returning to his room, Wei Zhao immediately entered the jade pendant's space and began discussing with Jiao Ya Zi how to break through from late Profound-rank peak to Earth rank.

"You've already tried so many things yourself, and I watched from the side the whole time. If there were a way, do you think I wouldn't have told you?" Jiao Ya Zi rolled his eyes. "I have no solution left, at any rate. Unless you become an alchemist and refine a Qi-Gathering Pill for each of them!"

"Isn't that the same as saying nothing? I haven't even crossed the threshold of an alchemist yet, and you're already talking about refining pills!" Wei Zhao said with a bitter smile. "Ever since advancing to Earth rank, I've felt the difference between myself and the others more and more clearly. People from sects and families really are different. I've had to feel my way forward entirely on my own, whereas the people from those families have already been tempered and prepared through countless trials."

"But you have the jade pendant, and they don't," Jiao Ya Zi said.

"That much is true." Wei Zhao nodded. It was the one thing he took pride in above all else, and also his ultimate trump card—a secret that could never be revealed.

"Don't agonize over it too much. The full moon of the five-year deadline is almost here. Once you open the second level of the stone gate, you may gain something entirely beyond your expectations!" Jiao Ya Zi said.

"I suppose I can only place my hopes on that," Wei Zhao said.

Since even Jiao Ya Zi had no solution, Wei Zhao could only search for one himself. He cultivated in the jade pendant's space while racking his brains, but no matter how long he thought, he could not come up with any workable plan. Indeed, when he had been poisoned back then, he had already considered nearly every feasible method. Any idea he might think of now would merely be one he had considered and rejected at the time. What new solution could there possibly be?

If there had truly been another way, Wei Zhao would never have needed to take a Qi-Gathering Pill in the first place.

"You're back? I heard you accompanied Tang Yun to her old home..." Qiu Lingcan did not know the details. All she had known was that Wei Zhao had been staying home, searching for an opportunity to break through. After waiting a long time without hearing from him, the case of the fake Wei Zhao was finally closed. Qiu Lingcan had wanted to notify him, but when she called, his phone could not be reached. She therefore called Gu Mengyao's home directly, and only then learned that Wei Zhao had accompanied Tang Yun back to her hometown.

Wei Zhao's phone might have been unreachable because the battery had happened to die, or because there was interference near the Hidden Tang Family's residence. Wei Zhao himself did not know the exact reason.

"Yes. I just got back yesterday," Wei Zhao said. "How did the fake Wei Zhao case turn out? Mengyao said you came looking for me afterward."

"The case is closed. We couldn't get a single useful lead out of him. That suspect was practically an idiot. Most of the nerves in his brain had already been damaged by drugs. Once the hypnotist's commands had been carried out, he was no different from a fool." Qiu Lingcan sounded helpless. "We knew perfectly well that he was only a puppet, but we still couldn't find the person behind him. We did obtain an image of the driver at the highway toll station and ran it through the information database, but we couldn't find anyone who looked sufficiently similar. He must have undergone plastic surgery, just like the fake Wei Zhao, so there was nothing to find in the records..."

Wei Zhao shrugged. What Qiu Lingcan had said was more or less what he had expected. If the other side possessed such sophisticated methods and such ability to frame people, how could they possibly have allowed Qiu Lingcan to seize any obvious flaw or useful clue? They had probably gone into hiding long ago.

Wei Zhao suspected that whoever had done this was one of his enemies, but determining precisely which one was not easy.

"Forget it. Apart from a few of my enemies, no one else would have happened to create a fake me so conveniently." Wei Zhao waved a hand. "But it doesn't matter. I'll have to face those people sooner or later. For now, let's deal with the Family Conference."

"That's true." Qiu Lingcan nodded. "Oh, right. Grandpa has called several times, urging me and asking what exactly is going on between me and Yu Feng. He says our Song Family will be at a serious disadvantage at the Family Conference. But since our plan to go there and challenge them is supposed to remain secret, I've been fobbing him off. I imagine Grandpa must be frantic by now..."

"I understand. But the situation has changed, and I may not be able to raise you and Chen Yutian to Earth rank." Wei Zhao looked at Qiu Lingcan and Chen Yutian, suddenly feeling rather embarrassed. His bold promises from before still rang in his ears, yet now he was unable to fulfill them.

(To be continued) RQ

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