Chapter 1853 — Unexpectedly Unharmed

He was no member of the hidden Yu family, and he was bound by none of its taboos.

"Woof, woof..." General Valiant caught the killing intent that flickered in Zhao Guang'er's eyes and sprang at once before Gu Mengyao, ready to shield her and Xiaoshu.

Only, its strength fell short—it was merely at the peak of the late Mystic rank. Certain attacking spirit beasts might fight above their rank against higher-level cultivators, but General Valiant was only an ancient spirit beast remade from an ordinary dog, and naturally possessed no such divine might.

"A Mystic-rank spirit beast? Not bad—I'll take it!" You Shisan spoke up then as well. He came from the hidden You family, and the hidden You family had long enjoyed close dealings with the Xuandan Sect; the importance of ancient spirit beasts to pill refinement was something he knew all too well.

If the flesh and blood of a high-tier ancient spirit beast were blended into a pill, it could yield many unforeseen effects; and should such a beast chance to form an essence core, it would be first-rate material for pill refinement. So the moment he laid eyes on General Valiant, he wanted the dog for himself.

Naturally, Yu Liu and Zhao Guang'er had come this time each with his own purpose; a dog was no concern of theirs. If You Shisan wanted it, they were content to let him have it—what mattered was achieving their own ends.

In the business van, the others showed no reaction, but Yu Huoxing's face went stiff the moment he saw General Valiant. This dog was all too familiar to him—in the ancient tomb, it had been this very dog that drove off the tomb guardian spirit beast!

Moreover, Yu Huoxing was a man who feared death and was meticulous besides; anyone or anything that might threaten him he remembered with perfect clarity. Ordinary folk, seeing a dog, might never notice what set it apart, or that they had seen it before.

After all, most animals look alike in human eyes—a flock of chickens or ducks, a herd of cattle or sheep, all identical to the crowd. Yu Huoxing was simply more attentive.

Of course, it was only when You Shisan cried "a Mystic-rank spirit beast" that Yu Huoxing recalled the high Mystic-rank dog that had stood beside the male thief in the ancient tomb...

But how had this dog come to be here? Yu Huoxing frowned. The male thief... Wei Zhao... could it be...

A bold thought flashed through Yu Huoxing's mind—was Wei Zhao the male thief, and the male thief Wei Zhao? Recall the thief's build: how like Wei Zhao's it was! Yu Huoxing was instantly wild with excitement. He had finally solved one puzzle: why, when Yu Xiaochen questioned Yu Bing, Yu Bing admitted that Wei Zhao had entered the ancient tomb and even carried a Qi Gathering Pill!

Yu Xiaochen had said at the time that he would question Yu Bing vaguely and only in general terms; perhaps that was precisely why Yu Bing misunderstood, believing Yu Xiaochen already knew the truth—and Yu Xiaochen in turn misunderstood, which was how matters had come to this pass!

At this thought Yu Huoxing all but threw back his head and laughed aloud. Heaven itself was aiding him! Wei Zhao did indeed have a Qi Gathering Pill! He was a veritable prophet—even his idle talk had hit the mark.

"What are you laughing at?" Zhao Qibing asked, baffled by Yu Huoxing's foolish grin.

"N-nothing... nothing..." Yu Huoxing hastily wiped the smile from his face—he could not let Zhao Qibing glimpse any flaw. A little awkwardly he said, "I was only laughing that Wei Zhao, that young pup, will soon be dead. Wonderful!"

"Yes, wonderful!" Zhao Qibing took him to mean that the Qi Gathering Pill could never be exposed now, and gave him a knowing look, nodding.

Kang Zhaoming alone was somewhat at a loss; but he knew well that his was a small Kang family, and though the You family backed it, he was still no equal of Yu Huoxing and Zhao Qibing. He could only keep silent and quietly watch Wei Zhao's fall.

"Good—Brother You, you deal with that dog. I'll finish these two girls first. Brother Yu, you go inside and find Wei Zhao!" Zhao Guang'er clearly meant to wipe out everyone here, leaving no witness alive.

Yu Liu frowned slightly, recalling the family head's words—that he was not to harm anyone close to Wei Zhao. He did not know why, and he was minded to remind Zhao Guang'er of it, but thinking of the gulf in strength between them, he held his tongue.

After all, by rank Zhao Guang'er was unquestionably the strongest, with late Earth-rank strength; he himself and You Shisan were merely mid Earth-rank adepts.

"Looking for me? No need to search inside—I've come out on my own." A flicker of shock crossed Wei Zhao's eyes; he had not expected all three men before him to be Earth-rank adepts—and one of them a late Earth-rank master at that!

Wei Zhao, only just recovered, felt his heart tighten. Even if he compressed true qi bombs, he might still not be able to handle all three before him—and three true qi bombs would take no small time to prepare. He had already come off worst against You Shisan once, and he was not about to repeat the same mistake.

But Wei Zhao could walk out calmly to face the three adepts who had come knocking; he was no fool. In his heart stirred an even more reckless notion...

"Wei Zhao... you're actually unharmed?" Zhao Guang'er stared at him in shock. He had heard from Zhao Qibing before that this Wei Zhao was a master of deception—that each time his strength was spent, he would lure his enemies in and then annihilate them in one stroke!

Zhao Qibing even suspected that Wei Zhao could not be bothered to hunt his enemies down himself, and used this method to draw them all to his door, then cut them down one by one—saving himself a great deal of trouble.

Naturally, wary as Zhao Guang'er was in this moment, he felt not the slightest fear. In his eyes Wei Zhao was nothing more than an early Earth-rank adept; even if he had broken through, the peak of the early Earth rank was the very most he could manage—even defying the heavens, he could reach no higher than mid Earth rank. And on his own side were three Earth-rank adepts: one late Earth rank and two mid Earth rank. A combination like that was enough to slaughter any cultivator below late Earth rank—and to slaughter them with ease!

"Naturally I'm unharmed!" Wei Zhao looked at the three before him and smiled faintly.

Wei Zhao's answer left Zhao Guang'er and the others uncertain and alarmed. What did he mean by that? Naturally unharmed? Did that mean he had been waiting here all along, waiting for them to come make trouble for him?

"Don't listen to his nonsense. When I came looking before, he was dead to the world—these two girls had hidden him here. If he were truly unharmed, he'd have gone back to the villa long ago. Why would he still be here?" Yu Liu punctured Wei Zhao's lie outright.

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