Chapter 2002 — Unreconciled!

"Boy, always clashing fourth stance against fourth stance hardly shows any skill, does it? What say we trade a few other moves? This is getting tedious..." The Earth-Rank man in black had finally grown a little afraid—afraid that if Wei Zhao kept trading blows like this, he himself could not hold out many more rounds. Under normal circumstances he could unleash the fourth stance only about ten times, fifteen at most if his fortune burst forth at its brightest; and he had already done it eight times. If they kept at it and Wei Zhao could still keep going, what would become of him?

And Wei Zhao, in truth, had no wish to keep at it either. Formidable as the third stance was, its might fell short of what it became when the first, second, and third stances were poured out in unbroken succession; and Wei Zhao too could not last much longer. Even with the second layer of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art, he could hold out only five or six more times. He was just wondering what to do when the other man made such a proposal—Wei Zhao was instantly overjoyed, and how could he refuse?

"Fine. Then let us begin the contest from the second stance—but no cheating!" Wei Zhao said. His first stance was the equal of the Earth-Rank man in black's second, so he could only say they would start from the second stance.

"I'm the one afraid you'll cheat! Cheaters' mothers drop dead!" The Earth-Rank man in black nodded, though inwardly he was much puzzled: why did Wei Zhao want to start from the second stance? But in a flash he understood. The Earth-Rank man in black knew well that when a martial technique was performed beginning with the first stance, the might of the second and third stances would exceed what they showed when used alone; but beginning with the second stance, no such thing was possible. So Wei Zhao's proposal must surely be because he feared his opponent's technique was the stronger?

But the Earth-Rank man in black seldom practiced the first, second, and third stances in unbroken sequence in any case, so it made no difference at all to him.

"Good—here I come!" Wei Zhao marshaled the true qi within his body, unleashed the first stance of Raging Fire Fist, and struck at the Earth-Rank man in black...

And the Earth-Rank man in black likewise unleashed the second stance of his Frigid Ice-Snow Spike and met Wei Zhao head-on...

"Boom—" A great crash burst from the impact, and the two men flew back from each other...

But to keep his technique unbroken, Wei Zhao did not halt after spitting out a mouthful of blood this time; instead he swiftly and seamlessly unleashed the second stance of Raging Fire Fist and met the Earth-Rank man in black...

The Earth-Rank man in black had not expected Wei Zhao to omit even the time for catching his breath and simply strike with the "third stance." He dared not regulate his own breath either, and hurriedly met it with his own third stance...

The Earth-Rank man in black was somewhat baffled. Wei Zhao's third stance seemed very powerful—could he have used the fourth stance? But he shook his head: this should not be the fourth stance, for the fourth stance's might was greater still.

Yet why did Wei Zhao's third stance seem a shade stronger than his own third stance? In truth Wei Zhao had used only the second stance; even if it came infinitely close to the Earth-Rank man in black's third stance, it was still inferior to the third. What made the Earth-Rank man in black think it so strong was entirely that this stance had been derived straight from the first stance, and so was somewhat stronger than an ordinary second stance—that alone produced such a result.

Yet before the Earth-Rank man in black could think further, Wei Zhao's "fourth stance" came crashing over! The Earth-Rank man in black was left speechless. You do not rest—do you want to die? But Wei Zhao's fist was already upon him; he could not sit down to regulate his breath, and he was no longer willing to trade blow for blow...

For he had discovered that Wei Zhao's "fourth stance" at this moment was even more powerful than before—fully twenty percent stronger! What was the meaning of this? Wei Zhao had not calmed himself to regulate his breath, but had instead struck again and again without pause—and yet he grew stronger?

Could it be that someone practicing from the second stance onward could still produce the effect of one stance surpassing the last? He had never heard of such a thing.

The Earth-Rank man in black's blood and qi were truly churning. In his judgment, if he took this move of Wei Zhao's head-on, he would surely end up in a wretched, wretched state. This was unlike before: before there had been pauses in which to regulate his breath, but now there were none—and Wei Zhao's move was stronger besides!

At this thought, the Earth-Rank man in black's eyes flickered. He feigned a punch toward Wei Zhao, but in truth he stamped hard on the ground with both feet and, borrowing the force, flung himself backward, flying straight to the foot of the wall not far away...

Such a way of dodging was humiliating, especially for a fine hand of the mid Earth-Rank—to shrink from taking a technique unleashed by an early Earth-Rank expert. But at this moment the Earth-Rank man in black no longer gave a thought to whether it was humiliating.

He even regretted it somewhat: from the very start he should never have traded blows head-on with Wei Zhao so many times; he should have dodged a few times and worn down some of Wei Zhao's strength first. But his confidence as a mid Earth-Rank expert had kept him from doing so—and now he could not spare such concerns.

Seeing the Earth-Rank man in black suddenly dart backward, Wei Zhao's heart sank and his face changed! This third stance of Raging Fire Fist was his trump card. He had performed the first stance and then the second without pause and only then unleashed the third, all to make the third stronger—and if the third stance landed on the Earth-Rank man in black, Wei Zhao was confident he could wound him gravely!

Wei Zhao had held on all this while; even when trading blows head-on with the Earth-Rank man in black using the first and second stances, and suffering severe internal injuries, he had not stopped to heal them, choosing instead to press on.

For so long as the Earth-Rank man in black was gravely wounded, Wei Zhao would hold the absolute advantage. But what he had never expected was that at this most critical moment the Earth-Rank man in black would choose to shrink back—that he would not take this third stance head-on...

Wei Zhao frowned, filled with regret. Yet the third stance had already been unleashed; to pull it back was now impossible...

Helpless, Wei Zhao could only unleash the third stance with regret. Though he did his utmost to pursue the Earth-Rank man in black's course, most of the third stance's might still dispersed; by the time Wei Zhao reached the man's side, only a tiny wisp of scorching flame had swept across his body. That bit of flame might be fatal to an ordinary person, but to the Earth-Rank man in black it was nothing at all—it could not inflict even a small wound.

Wei Zhao was not reconciled—no, deep in his heart there was a profound unwillingness!

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