Chapter 2000 — A Vast Gap

As for the Earth-stage man in black, he dared not attempt a sneak attack on Wei Zhao just then; he too had first to regulate his own breath. He feared that if he went to strike, Wei Zhao would turn the ambush back upon him. So since Wei Zhao was resting and restoring himself, he seized the chance to circulate his inner method as well...

At this moment, by unspoken agreement, neither side attacked the other. The true qi within both their bodies was in disarray, and each knew that to strike now might well mean death for both; so neither did anything foolish.

After a few breaths of regulation, the Earth-stage man in black let out a long, foul breath and looked at Wei Zhao with a cold smile: "What is it, boy? You forced out a fourth-form technique just now, didn't you? Can't you stand up anymore? Your true qi is so badly depleted you've gone soft in the legs, haven't you? Haha! Then I won't be polite. You may go and die!"

Wei Zhao had no mind to waste a single instant. Even though he could heal his wounds and replenish his true qi within the jade pendant's space, that could not make up for the true qi he had lost, and the injuries inside his body could be repaired only by half. So Wei Zhao waited until the Earth-stage man in black had finished his mocking, then reluctantly returned from the jade pendant's space to reality, rose lazily from the ground, and looked at the man in black: "Oh, I was actually healed long ago. I was only sitting on the ground for a while. I thought you were finished this time. So you're not dead after all? Then let's go again!"

As he spoke, Wei Zhao came at him once more with the third form of the Furious Flame Fist. The Earth-stage man in black had only just finished regulating his breath and had not yet decided how to answer the next move, when he saw Wei Zhao bearing down on him with what looked like the "fourth form" again, and he nearly spat blood.

He thought to himself: Does this bastard have a death wish? He took such severe internal injuries trading blows head-on before, and he still comes at me head-on? Can't you exchange a couple of ordinary moves before unleashing a technique? You may not mind running short of true qi, but I do!

But think as he might, Wei Zhao's fist was already upon him, and the Earth-stage man in black could only grit his teeth and meet it, or he would likely be crippled by the blow. Against a fourth-form martial technique, even an expert at the peak of mid Mystic-stage would not dare simply stand there and take the hit; it would surely leave him maimed.

"Boom..." Another thunderous collision, and both bodies were once more blasted apart by the surging tide of true qi. Wei Zhao was flung backward as before, but this time the Earth-stage man in black was plainly worse off than in the previous two exchanges. The injuries within his body had not yet healed, so in this fresh clash of brute force he did not merely stagger back a few steps; he was driven back many steps, until he reached the corner of the wall behind him and only just caught hold of it to steady himself. This time, however, he spat out two mouthfuls of black blood...

Wei Zhao fared no better; his state was graver than the last time. He too was hurled backward, struck the ground, spat several mouthfuls of fresh blood, and then swiftly entered the jade pendant's space to heal his wounds and replenish his strength...

Yet the strength consumed and the injuries incurred each time he unleashed a technique could not be fully restored in so brief a span. Each time, Wei Zhao could recover only a small portion, while a great portion was wasted, which reminded him somewhat of that battle with You Shisan.

That time, Wei Zhao had relied on this same stubborn will to contend with You Shisan. But You Shisan's martial techniques had clearly been of an entirely different order from those of the Earth-stage man in black before him now, a difference as vast as that between heaven and earth.

Every sign suggested that if this man was not a genius, then he came from a great clan, a lineage before which even the hidden clans could not hope to stand.

"Boy, you can't keep going this time, can you?" This time the Earth-stage man in black did not scramble up so quickly to mock Wei Zhao. He spent a long while regulating his breath, and only when he saw that Wei Zhao was still sitting on the ground did he speak his taunt.

After a good while, Wei Zhao stretched lazily and said mildly, "I was about to fall asleep before you finished regulating your breath. You really are slow. I thought you had died."

"Bullshit!" the Earth-stage man in black snarled. "You're spitting more blood than I am, so don't put on airs. If you think you can play it calm and scare me off, you're dreaming! Do you think I don't know you're talking nonsense? If you were fine, why wouldn't you come ambush me? Why would you still be sitting on the ground? What the hell are you waiting for?"

"Ambushing people is so shameless," Wei Zhao said with a faint smile.

"And hiding your strength to kill one of my men just now, was that not shameless?" The Earth-stage man in black was beside himself with rage at Wei Zhao. This little brat did nothing but trade brute blows, and what the hell was the point of that? Yes, that was it: he must be doing it on purpose, feigning ease in order to frighten him off. How could he possibly let him succeed?

In fact, the Earth-stage man in black was not wrong. Wei Zhao's injuries were indeed graver than his own, as the distance Wei Zhao was flung and the amount of blood he spat made plain. But Wei Zhao had the jade pendant, and of that he knew nothing.

"Hiding one's strength and ambushing are not the same thing," Wei Zhao said. "Come, let us continue. Look how honorable and upright I am. Whoever ambushes is a bastard!"

The Earth-stage man in black was so furious he wanted to spit blood. He, a fine expert of mid Earth-stage, was being needled like this by Wei Zhao. Yet Wei Zhao's goading truly worked; the pride of a mid Earth-stage cultivator was no small thing, especially when facing a weakling like Wei Zhao. So the man in black said outright, "What the hell is there to fear? Come on, then!"

And so Wei Zhao's third form of the Furious Flame Fist once again met the fourth form of the Earth-stage man in black's Ice-Cold Snow Spike. Once again, after a tremendous crash, the two were blasted apart...

...Five times. This was the fifth time the two had clashed head-on, and Wei Zhao felt his strength beginning to fail him. His wounds were growing heavier as well, and had begun to hinder him from unleashing his techniques properly...

Wei Zhao glanced at the Earth-stage man in black. Though the man was gravely wounded too, and his strength was likewise declining, he was after all an expert of mid Earth-stage; the gulf between his power and Wei Zhao's was simply too great. Wei Zhao could not be sure that dragging the fight out would wear him to death.

And now Wei Zhao had realized that this mid Earth-stage expert before him and You Shisan, that other mid Earth-stage expert, were two entirely different propositions. Back then he had been able to wear You Shisan down until fear drove him to flee, but this Earth-stage man in black would never run.

Never mind how many times superior his martial techniques were to You Shisan's; You Shisan had been able to unleash only two forms of his technique, and could not be mentioned in the same breath as the Earth-stage man in black before him.

Wei Zhao gritted his teeth. This could not go on. Yet he could not back down either. Leaving aside whether Xu Shilan would be in danger if he retreated, there was simply the matter of the revenge the Earth-stage man in black had spoken of, of seeking out the people around Wei Zhao and making trouble for them. Wei Zhao could not let him off lightly.

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