Chapter 2129 — The Championship Contest

"Oh, that old sect master of yours—what was his name, Jin Wudi? 'Invincible.' He didn't even get to be invincible before he died," Wei Zhao said.

Ma Dashen's expression changed at once, and fury kindled in his eyes. Ma Zhu and Jin Wudi were the Golden Bell Sect's two great shames and two great hatreds, and the man who had brought it all about stood right before him now—Wei Zhao! Kill Wei Zhao? Ma Dashen would not claim to be sure of that. But knock Wei Zhao off the platform and tread his ranking underfoot? That, Ma Dashen was confident he could do!

Enraged as he was, he was not reckless. "I have seen your martial skill. I would call it merely ordinary—you destroyed a rock, nothing more. You might have wounded my senior brother Ma Zhu, but you could never beat our grand sect master. The grand sect master was murdered by your scheming!"

"Oh, scheming, then. Call it scheming." Wei Zhao glanced at Ma Dashen, then turned his eyes to Jingang Zuan and said mildly, "He is no match for me. If you do not want him dead, you had best make him concede."

"You—" Jingang Zuan had not expected Wei Zhao to be so arrogant, yet he still had faith in Ma Dashen. Ma Dashen might only be at the peak of the late Mystic Rank, but in his mastery of the Golden Bell Cover he was no weaker than Jin Wudi!

Jin Wudi had died at the hands of Wei Zhao's underling, but Wei Zhao himself might not be able to do anything to him. Otherwise, why had Wei Zhao not finished off Ma Zhu?

Besides, Jingang Zuan had followed Wei Zhao's matches all along this tournament. The ones he had watched most closely were two: the martial skill contest and the endurance contest. Only those two matches held any real reference value for the platform battles!

The power Wei Zhao's martial skill had shown struck Jingang Zuan as merely ordinary—far below what a Heaven Rank fighter could do. He was confident Ma Dashen could withstand an endurance trial of the level a low Heaven Rank fighter would produce.

So even if Wei Zhao brought out that martial skill, it would do him little good against Ma Dashen. As for Wei Zhao's own defensive endurance—strong as it was, Ma Dashen might still find a flaw. Handle it properly and there was a chance. Look at the last two matches: Ma Dashen had been the weakest man on the platform, and still he walked away the winner!

At this thought, Jingang Zuan said coldly, "Wei Zhao, spare us the alarmist talk. On the platform, who lives and who dies—that's only settled by fighting!"

"Oh, I was only offering a friendly warning. Don't come crying later when I kill this fine disciple of yours and you, old thing, fly into a rage and try for revenge—and get wiped out along with him. Then your Golden Bell Sect will be exterminated." Wei Zhao spoke mildly.

"Fine words!" Jingang Zuan sneered. "This is a platform of life and death. If he dies, his luck was bad. The hidden-family summit has been held for many years, and many disciples have fallen on these platforms. I have never heard of any family nursing a grudge over it."

"Never mind, then. In that case I have nothing more to say." Wei Zhao sighed with a touch of pity and shook his head.

"Nothing more needs saying. Enough idle talk—begin!" Jingang Zuan said.

"Very well. Old Master Zhao, please declare the match begun!" Wei Zhao said, looking to Old Master Zhao.

"Good. Contestants of the hidden Han family and the Golden Bell Sect, take your positions. The platform match is about to begin... three, two, one—begin!" Old Master Zhao announced.

Yet when Old Master Zhao finished speaking and the match had begun, Wei Zhao did not move—and neither did Ma Dashen!

Ma Dashen watched Wei Zhao warily. Attack was his weakness; defense was his strength. To find an opening, an enemy's flaw, while defending, then seize it in a single blow and drive the man off the platform—that was Ma Dashen's accustomed method!

Wei Zhao sneered inwardly. From Ma Dashen's earlier matches he had already worked out the man's tactics, so he was in no hurry. He simply stood where he was, motionless, watching Ma Dashen.

Time slipped past, second by second. One minute, two minutes, five minutes, ten minutes, twenty minutes...

The two men on the platform were still glaring at each other, showing not the slightest intention of lifting a hand!

This match ought by rights to have been the most brilliant, the most interesting of the whole singles platform challenge. At the start, every old master present, every sect master, every disciple of every family had stared unblinking at the platform, eager to see these two fine fighters trade blows...

But now, twenty minutes gone with neither man moving, the crowd below was growing anxious and losing interest. What game were these two playing? If they meant to fight, then fight—why would neither make a move?

Jingang Zuan frowned. He had not expected Wei Zhao to use this tactic too! Normally, when Ma Dashen fought, the opponent struck first and Ma Dashen defended throughout, hunting for an opening amid his defense to strike back. But now Wei Zhao would not move—was Ma Dashen to strike first instead?

The moment Ma Dashen attacked, he could no longer run the heart-method of the Golden Bell Cover with his whole mind. Distracted even slightly, the Golden Bell Cover might not be as formidable as when his qi was properly circulated—and what if he were knocked off the platform?

So Jingang Zuan fretted, cursing Wei Zhao silently as shameless. The man knew perfectly well this was the Golden Bell Sect's own tactic, yet he aped it, standing there defending and never attacking. How was the match supposed to go on?

But Jingang Zuan had no way to say so. After all, in Wei Zhao's previous two matches he had not lifted a hand either—he had conceded without fighting. So if Jingang Zuan tried to attack Wei Zhao on the pretext of his not moving, that would plainly not wash. He thought it over: the only way was to needle Wei Zhao into striking first...

But just as Jingang Zuan was about to open his mouth, Wei Zhao spoke first! Wei Zhao was watching Ma Dashen's movements and Jingang Zuan's alike; the instant either of them looked ready to speak, Wei Zhao would get there first.

"I say, Ma Dashen, is this really the best the Golden Bell Sect can do? I stand here and let you hit me, and you still won't lift a hand?" Wei Zhao laughed mockingly. "Don't tell me the business with Ma Zhu and Jin Wudi has left you all traumatized—afraid to make a move?"

"You—you're talking nonsense!" Jingang Zuan flew into a rage. Those were exactly the words he had meant to use to needle Wei Zhao, and Wei Zhao had said them first. Shocked and furious, he had no recourse but to retort, "Wei Zhao, you little wretch! You know full well the Golden Bell Cover turns defense into attack—that is our tactic. Are you deliberately picking a fight with us? In our last few matches everyone saw with their own eyes that this was our tactic. Are you doing this on purpose?"

"Which of your eyes saw that it was on purpose? And besides, what my tactic is—do you know? In my last two matches my opponents never made a move. Where did you learn that my tactic was not to defend and turn defense into attack?" Wei Zhao shot back.

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