Chapter 1750 — A Desperate Struggle, Part Two

He knew he could not fall. If he fell, it was over for him—and over for Guan Xin as well. So Wei Zhao had to keep fighting! Every time he went down, Wei Zhao told himself: No, I have to get up. If I don't, I lose everything!

Another round of attacks began. Gritting his teeth against the pain that wracked his entire body, Wei Zhao tried to rise... but this time, he truly could not get up! He felt as though every bone in his body had come apart, and he was so drowsy, so exhausted... He wanted so badly to close his eyes...

Before Wei Zhao's eyes, the smear of blood gave way to a blinding white radiance, and he felt a powerful urge to let go... It seemed that beyond the misty white glow lay a tranquil place—the jade pendant's space. If he could only reach it, Wei Zhao would be able to rest. He wanted to walk toward it...

"Whoosh..." A sharp gust of wind at his ear jolted Wei Zhao abruptly back to his senses! He had nearly slipped into the jade pendant's space on his own—that would have been far too dangerous. If he truly entered the jade pendant's space, he would be dead beyond any doubt today!

Wei Zhao bit down hard on his own tongue. The jolt of pain brought a flash of clarity, and he surged to his feet, swinging both fists as he charged to meet You Shisan!

Though every one of Wei Zhao's strikes looked like a full-force blow, each was weaker than the last. Fortunately, You Shisan's palms were not Wu Chengtian's. In this collision, amid the thunderous booming, Wei Zhao's keen ears caught a crisp crack of bone!

Wei Zhao was a physician, and he was extraordinarily sensitive to that sound! His heart leaped with joy—it had worked again! You Shisan's palm had surely been cracked by his blows! This rekindled the fighting spirit of Wei Zhao, who had been on the verge of giving out!

First it had been swelling, and now the bone was cracked. If he could keep this up, You Shisan's palms would certainly be crippled! The moment that thought struck him, Wei Zhao was abruptly galvanized. He swiftly circulated the Xuanyuan Dragon-Controlling Formula, healing the injuries to his hands and meridians, then rose to his feet and faced You Shisan, chest out and head high. "Let's go again!"

Though Wei Zhao's body was already covered in blood and grime, and a trace of deathliness had crept into his pale face, his voice was utterly resolute, without the slightest hint of compromise!

Though Guan Xin's mouth was sealed and she could not speak, her eyes had not been blindfolded, and every moment of Wei Zhao's battle with You Shisan fell before her eyes without a single detail missed! At that moment Guan Xin's heart twisted as though cut by a knife. She shook her head desperately, tears pouring down like rain, wanting to stop Wei Zhao, to make him flee at once—but she could not make a single sound. Her faint whimpers were utterly useless.

Guan Xin was a nurse, and she came from a family of physicians besides. How could she fail to see that Wei Zhao was a spent arrow? If this went on, Wei Zhao would surely lose his life!

When Kang Zhaoming saw that Wei Zhao could still climb to his feet, he shouted at once, "Finish that brat off!"

But You Shisan alone knew his own business: his palms were nearly ruined by Wei Zhao's blows! He was not an external-school cultivator. Though his martial skills were delivered through his palms, those palms were not hardened. If the fight went on like this, these two hands would undoubtedly be crippled!

True, an internal-school practitioner's ruined palms could be restored with certain medicines and elixirs, unlike the devastating losses an external-school practitioner would suffer—but even after recovery, they would certainly not be as nimble as before! After all, no one else could repair his injuries with his own heart-formula and mnemonic arts as Wei Zhao could, or heal with true qi as the Sun family did.

Relying on medicine was always somewhat inferior. And once the bones of the hand were shattered, even with medicine, the best one could hope for after recovery was partial disability! Unless there were a grade-three or higher medicine for mending bones and reconnecting tendons—but where in the hidden You family could such a medicine be found? Even in the Xuandan Sect such things were exceedingly rare treasures. How could it possibly be given to him?

Seeing Wei Zhao rise to his feet once more, You Shisan was consumed with fury! From the day he made his name until now, he had never seen an Earth-rank expert as reckless with his own life as Wei Zhao! After all, for an ordinary person to cultivate to the Earth rank was supremely difficult. Even in battle, the rule was basically: fight if you can win, flee if you cannot—unless it was a single fatal blow with no chance to strike back!

And now, Wei Zhao clearly had many chances to escape. You Shisan even thought to himself that if Wei Zhao ran, he would not give chase! But Wei Zhao stubbornly refused to run, rising again and again to fight him, which left You Shisan utterly exasperated!

He wanted to curse aloud: Is it so easy to cultivate to the Earth rank, you bastard? Must you fight yourself to death and leave me crippled before you are satisfied?

Yet seeing the resolve in Wei Zhao's tone and the unyielding light in his eyes, You Shisan knew: this fellow was gambling with his life!

The soft fear the hard, the hard fear the reckless, and the reckless fear those who do not care whether they live or die. This old saying holds true among cultivators as well!

Seeing that Wei Zhao meant to come at him again, You Shisan was genuinely a little afraid! Though he was confident he could strike Wei Zhao dead, the price to be paid was far too great. He and Wei Zhao had no grudge or grievance between them; he was here purely to lend a hand. Killing Wei Zhao would bring him no benefit whatsoever—instead, it would cost him both his palms. Which was lighter and which heavier was plain at a glance!

So at this thought, You Shisan began to waver. He was not like Kang Zhaoming; whether Wei Zhao lived or died had nothing to do with him.

"Young Master Kang, this man is mad. We're leaving!" Once the thought of retreat took root, You Shisan no longer wished to tangle with Wei Zhao. These palms were his own; there was no need to throw them away just to please Kang Zhaoming. Besides, the formula for the Life-Extending Detox Pill was already in hand, and his mission could be considered complete. When he returned to the You family, You Zhentian would not blame him—at most, the Kang family would grumble a little.

"What? Leave?" Kang Zhaoming was stunned. He had not expected You Shisan to suddenly want to leave when he had the upper hand and was driving Wei Zhao back step by step!

But You Shisan did not answer. He leaped over and hauled Kang Zhaoming up in one hand. Though his palms seared with pain and he truly did not want to flee carrying a man, abandoning Kang Zhaoming here would invite criticism of the You family—people would say the You family discarded its tools once the work was done. And then who would ever work for the You family again?

"Take her too!" Kang Zhaoming was unwilling to accept defeat just like that. He had not yet obtained the formula—how could he simply let Guan Xin go?

One more person was no great trouble for You Shisan. Since he had already picked up one, a second made little difference. But just as You Shisan's hand seized Guan Xin, a fierce gust of wind suddenly rushed at him from behind!

"Put her down!" Swinging both fists, Wei Zhao charged at You Shisan like a man possessed!

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