Chapter 2109 — In for a Penny, in for a Pound

Wei Zhao, by contrast, was perfectly fine—not a scratch on him. He sat cross-legged, leisurely and at ease, looking very nearly asleep.

"That Wei Zhao is definitely not an early Earth-rank!" The Zhao family patriarch had spotted the problem too. An early Earth-rank lasting this long? He would have died long ago! Even some disciples at the peak of late Earth-rank could not hold out.

As for that disciple of the Right family, he too was at the peak of late Earth-rank. The one from the Golden Bell Sect was peak late Profound-rank, but his training was a different kind altogether, so there was no comparing the two.

"Early Earth-rank? I'd say he's more than peak late Earth-rank!" The Right family patriarch gave a cold laugh. "Your Zhao Guang'er did not die unjustly! He might not have lasted even this long."

"This long? I'd say he was finished ten minutes ago!" The Zhao patriarch shook his head.

"Wei Zhao excels at playing the pig to eat the tiger—so it is indeed. Could this one be a Heaven-rank, deliberately suppressing his strength to toy with us here?" The Yu family patriarch frowned, his voice thick with suspicion.

"Hiss—" The Tang patriarch drew a sharp breath! Heaven-rank? Truly? Surely not? If he had known earlier that Wei Zhao was Heaven-rank, why would he have treated Tang Yun the way he did? He should have acknowledged her at once and had her bring Wei Zhao back to the Tang family! He was a fool—this Wei Zhao could really put on an act, and he had led this old man to ruin!

"He should not be Heaven-rank yet!" The Yu family patriarch shook his head again. "When is breaking through to Heaven-rank ever that easy? Wei Zhao is simply somewhat stronger than others of his tier. So he must be at the peak of late Earth-rank!"

"That's more like it—gave me a fright!" The Zhao patriarch said with a bitter smile.

"Ah—" The Right family's contestant let out a miserable scream and came stumbling out of the formation, spewing a mouthful of fresh blood—clearly gravely injured internally! He simply could not hold on any longer; he was no match for that lunatic from the Golden Bell Sect!

"Aaaah—" No sooner had the Right family disciple emerged than the Golden Bell Sect disciple came tumbling and crawling out of the formation, also spitting a mouthful of blood. He was in bad shape too—though the Golden Bell Shield cloaked him, it still was not enough. Yet despite his injuries, he had taken third place, and the wounds were worth it!

The Right family disciple's face was full of unwillingness, but there was nothing to be done. To come out one second earlier than another was still to lose!

"Why has that Wei Zhao still not come out?" The Right family patriarch, seeing his own disciple defeated, spoke with some resentment.

"Who knows? Why don't we increase the pressure a bit more? There are only two left, after all," the Zhao patriarch suggested.

"Good! Let us force that Wei Zhao out. This round, we absolutely cannot let Wei Zhao win!" The Yu family patriarch nodded as well.

And so the patriarchs all surged with power at once, raising the force of their true qi and increasing the formation's pressure!

Inside the formation, Wei Zhao could naturally feel the pressure on him suddenly intensify! No doubt those outside were trying to force him out—but why would Wei Zhao fear such pressure? There was no enemy attacking here; he could calmly draw energy madly from the jade-pendant space, and it was more than enough to withstand the current pressure!

Glancing at the Fire Wolf Gang disciple not far away, a cold smile flickered at the corner of Wei Zhao's mouth. He shut his eyes again and continued circulating the mental technique and oral formulas within the jade-pendant space...

"Impossible, surely? That Wei Zhao boy seems to have no reaction at all?" The Zhao patriarch stared at Wei Zhao in the formation with some puzzlement. How could that be? Was this Wei Zhao truly so formidable?

"Increase the force of the true qi again!" The Right patriarch ground his teeth and said.

And so the patriarchs began once more to increase the force of their true qi, hoping to force Wei Zhao out. If Wei Zhao won this round as well, then this summit meant to target and suppress the hidden Han family would truly be a colossal joke!

Wei Zhao felt the true qi upon him strengthen once more, yet he merely smiled faintly.

"...Again!" The Zhao patriarch, seeing that Wei Zhao was unaffected, continued.

And so the patriarchs increased the force of their true qi a third time. The pressure of true qi within the formation had reached an extraordinary level—more than double what it had been before! Of course, though it was the combined pressure of several Heaven-rank experts at once, channeled through the formation, it still could not do Wei Zhao any harm!

After all, the true qi of those Heaven-rank experts was evenly distributed throughout the formation, and Wei Zhao was merely a single point within it. However powerful, it was power spread thin—worlds apart from a direct attack by a Heaven-rank expert. These Heaven-rank patriarchs had, in effect, only a small fraction of their true qi reaching Wei Zhao to contend with him; the greater part ran off to other parts of the formation and was wasted!

Wei Zhao felt once more the pressure of true qi around him increase greatly, but pressure of this degree he truly did not regard at all!

Though Wei Zhao had to expend more true qi to resist, that true qi came from the jade-pendant space—an endless, inexhaustible supply. He could simply sit there with his eyes shut, continuously drawing energy from the jade-pendant space to contend with the pressure...

"That's not right—just what level of expert is this Wei Zhao? Still nothing?" The Right family patriarch finally sensed that something was off. Was this not simply absurd?

The other Earth-rank disciples—even those at the peak of late Earth-rank—had already failed to endure under the initial pressure. Yet Wei Zhao, even after these Heaven-rank patriarchs had raised the true qi intensity again and again, still wore an utterly indifferent look!

"Patriarch Yu, what do you make of this?" The Zhao patriarch turned to the Yu family's ancestral elder and asked. The Yu ancestral elder was a veteran Heaven-rank expert of broad experience; for such a bizarre situation, there was no one else to ask.

"This defies all logic!" The Yu family patriarch shook his head, equally unable to understand what was going on with Wei Zhao. Could it be that Wei Zhao truly was already a Heaven-rank expert, playing the pig to eat the tiger all along?

"How about we exert our full pressure?" A savage glint flashed through the Tang patriarch's eyes. Wei Zhao had gravely humiliated the Tang family at his birthday banquet—few knew of it, only the Right family, the Xuandan Sect, and the Ice Palace, but the Tang patriarch's hatred for Wei Zhao had not diminished in the least!

Above all, he regretted not having properly courted Tang Yun, letting her sever ties with the Tang family! Otherwise, if Wei Zhao truly was a Heaven-rank expert, he would have been the son-in-law of the hidden Tang family—and what power would the hidden Tang family then command?

But he and Tang Lingtou had already taken things to the extreme back then; there was naturally no room to turn back. The Tang patriarch feared that Wei Zhao would bear a grudge and take revenge later, so he might as well be in for a penny, in for a pound!

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