Chapter 2141 — A Narrow Victory

Woking Dao was dead.

The spirit wolf was dead, its body torn beyond recognition.

"Dao'er!" Sect Master Wo let out a shrill cry and rushed forward, cradling Woking Dao's corpse, but it was already past saving… Woking Dao was in truth Sect Master Wo's nephew. Having no children of his own, he had raised the boy as his own flesh and blood, pouring every effort into grooming him, yet he had never told the youth of that bond…

Now Woking Dao was dead, and only then did Sect Master Wo know boundless regret. He should never have let Woking Dao face Wei Zhao. Had he known Wei Zhao would sweep all before him like that, why would he have been the first to stick his neck out? So many scions of the hidden clans—were they all fools?

Stump Bird Cannon and Stump Bird Spear, Pi Zhishan and Pi Zhihai—were they all brainless? Why had they conceded? Was it not because they feared Wei Zhao, because they could not beat him? And yet his nephew Woking Dao could?

"Wei Zhao, I swear by all that is holy, I will have your life!" Sect Master Wo stared up at the arena, grinding his teeth as he spoke…

On the arena, Wei Zhao was faring no better. Only after crashing heavily to the ground did he realize he had underestimated the might of Woking Dao's man-and-beast union. That one strike had landed harder than even the early Heaven rank blow he had taken during the endurance contest…

Wei Zhao felt as though every bone, every meridian, every organ in his body had been shattered. He had to admit that Woking Dao was the most dangerous foe he had faced since entering the Earth rank.

Not Blue Hair, not You Shisan, not the black-clad Earth rank man—none of them had left Wei Zhao so thoroughly routed. The bout with Woking Dao had looked simple, nothing elaborate about it, yet every step of it had set his heart racing.

As he was now, Wei Zhao was holding onto life by a thread of true qi alone. Any other cultivator would have perished the moment his true qi ran dry. Fortunately for him, he possessed the Xuanyuan Dragon Taming Art, that heaven-defying mental cultivation method, which allowed him to heal his own wounds.

So after sprawling to the ground, Wei Zhao did not hurry to rise. Instead he began circulating the second layer of the Xuanyuan Dragon Taming Art there on the arena, rapidly mending the injuries within his body. It was fortunate he had kept some true qi in reserve; otherwise, even if his wounds healed slowly, his meridians would have been ruined—just as had happened after his bout with Ma Zhu.

Han Xiaopo wanted to go and check on Wei Zhao, but Old Master Han waved him back and gave a slight shake of his head. If Wei Zhao were still alive and healing, it was best not to touch him; if he were already dead, then going over would be useless, and one had to think of the future of the hidden Han family.

Still, Han Xiaopo walked over to Wei Zhao's side, deeply anxious, and felt his heart ease when he saw that Wei Zhao was still breathing.

"Woking Dao, Wei Zhao—can either of you still stand?" Old Master Zhao, seeing no movement in the arena, could not tell whether Wei Zhao was dead, and so called out: "If both sides perish together, then both are losers in this match."

In Old Master Zhao's heart, he wanted Wei Zhao dead. If Wei Zhao died, the final match would not even need to be fought—how clean and simple that would be! As for Woking Dao, Old Master Zhao had no particular feelings; if he was dead, so be it—it had nothing to do with the hidden Zhao family either way.

"My leader is healing, dead my ass!" Han Xiaopo snapped. "Can't you see he's still breathing? Hurry up and declare the result!"

Having just repaired the broken bones in his body, Wei Zhao could barely manage to sit up, cross-legged on the arena, eyes still shut as he swiftly worked the mental cultivation formula, healing himself. His injuries were too severe now—he had to treat them at once, with no room for delay.

"See that? My leader's sitting up already!" Han Xiaopo was overjoyed and pressed on: "Even if that Woking Dao is still breathing, his spirit wolf is dead and has been knocked off the arena, while my leader and I are both still up here!"

Seeing that Wei Zhao was not dead, a flicker of disappointment crossed Old Master Zhao's eyes, but he still announced according to the rules: "In the two-person arena challenge championship contest, the final champion is the hidden Han family, the Qianshan Sect…"

Old Master Zhao turned a questioning look on Sect Master Wo. If Woking Dao were not dead—if only a spirit beast had perished—he could still be counted second in the match; but if both were dead, they could only be recorded as having withdrawn.

"Wei Zhao, I'll kill you!" Had Old Master Zhao said nothing, it might have passed, but that inquiry instantly stoked the fury in Sect Master Wo's breast. Staring at Wei Zhao on the arena, eyes spitting fire, he let out a strange cry and made to leap up and slay Wei Zhao on the spot.

"Sect Master Wo, do not be rash!" Old Master You, beside him, caught hold of Sect Master Wo and said in a low voice: "If you want revenge, it cannot be now. The Hidden Clan Summit has always been watched by those ancient powers above. On the arena fists and feet have no eyes—life and death are each man's fate! If the Sect Master strikes, you break the rules!"

"Hah—" Hearing Old Master You's words, Sect Master Wo calmed down and nodded: "Then let that little beast Wei Zhao live a while longer. At this afternoon's extra match, I will most certainly have his life!"

"Indeed. Do away with him during the match, and no one can find fault." Old Master You nodded.

"Old Master Zhao, my disciple Woking Dao has already…" Sect Master Wo sighed. "In this match, the Qianshan Sect withdraws!"

Old Master Zhao nodded and announced the result: "The Qianshan Sect withdraws. The contest between the hidden Zhuang family and the hidden Yu family for third place is hereby upgraded to a contest for second and third place!"

Over on that side, now that Old Master Zhao had announced the Qianshan Sect's withdrawal, the hidden Yu family and the hidden Zhuang family naturally shifted from fighting to the death to a leisurely exchange of moves. Seeing that the two Zhuang brothers truly were formidable, the Yu family's disciples had no mind to keep circling, and cupped their fists: "The Zhuang brothers' fame is well deserved. We concede!"

At this point, second and third place were about the same—who would still want to fight for it? Wei Zhao had taken first place and thrown the whole prearranged order into disarray, so since first was out of reach, second and third looked much the same.

"Heh, then we accept your concession!" Stump Bird Spear cupped his fists and said. In truth he had no wish to keep fighting either; there was no personal grudge between the hidden Zhuang family and the hidden Yu family, and no need for the two houses to battle on. Had the Yu family not conceded, Stump Bird Spear himself had been ready to yield.

After all, second and third place had both become mere foils to Wei Zhao, and the glory that had once attended the top three at past Hidden Clan Summits was gone.

So what was the use of fighting for it?

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