Chapter 2207 — Wu Chengtian's Surprise

Half an hour later, Wu Chengtian let out a long breath, his face relaxing into an expression of easy relief, joy welling up inside him. Had he not feared waking Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu sleeping upstairs, he would have thrown his head back and laughed aloud.

"Truly wondrous!" Wu Chengtian sighed. "Boss, honestly, I never once imagined that a day would come when I'd become an Earth Rank expert. Really—among the ordinary clans of the secular world, a single Profound Rank expert is already a formidable presence, and yet here I am, Earth Rank!"

"What, Earth Rank is enough for you?" Wei Zhao asked with a smile.

"If you'd asked me before, then yes, definitely enough—never mind Earth Rank, I'd have been satisfied with Profound Rank," Wu Chengtian said. "But now, after following you, Boss, I've learned that there is always a heaven beyond the heaven. My ambitions and my goals have grown vast. My ultimate goal is Heaven Rank! I mean to become a Heaven Rank expert!"

"Not bad—there's some spirit in you now," Wei Zhao said. "Rest assured, breaking through to Heaven Rank won't remain a dream for you."

If Han Jingyi became a third-rank alchemist, she would be able to refine Qi-Gathering Pills. Then, if he himself could reach Heaven Rank, he could raise Wu Chengtian all the way to peak late Earth Rank, and a single Qi-Gathering Pill would be enough to set his feet upon Heaven Rank.

So it was true after all: Wu Chengtian becoming a Heaven Rank expert was no mere dream.

"Boss, I heard Jingyi say the two of you are going to a very dangerous place?" Wu Chengtian asked.

"Mm, the Ulanhot Mountains. They're said to be rather dangerous," Wei Zhao said, making no attempt to hide it. "But it concerns Jingyi's origins, and I've already given her my word, so I'll go with her."

"Ah, and this is exactly where you and I differ, Boss. I'm not afraid of death either, but if it were me, I'd certainly try to talk Sun Jingyan out of taking such a risk. You're different, though—no wonder Jingyi chose you!" Wu Chengtian said.

"Is that praise, or are you calling me reckless?" Wei Zhao laughed.

"Praise, of course. Fortune is sought in peril—dangerous places mean opportunity in equal measure. That's an eternal truth. But I lack that adventurous spirit," Wu Chengtian said. "So I'll just stay safe and steady as your humble follower. Having you lead me forward is quite enough."

"I still have a few bottles of body-tempering elixir here, obtained from the Hidden Pi Clan. What they cultivate is the fist; what you cultivate is the iron hand—there should be common ground between them. This elixir ought to benefit your external cultivation," Wei Zhao said.

"What? You're joking, surely? Elixir from the Hidden Pi Clan?" Wu Chengtian's eyes went wide, and he stared at Wei Zhao in disbelief.

It wasn't that he had never heard of such elixir—he had heard of it many times over, until his ears had grown calluses from it! The Hidden Pi Clan's elixir was famed far and wide, said to have some connection to the ancient sect known as the Divine Fist Hall.

Old Master Wu Gonggao had once offered a fortune to obtain a single bottle of that elixir from the Hidden Pi Clan, hoping to temper Wu Chengtian's body for the cultivation of the Iron Hand Technique—but the Hidden Pi Clan would not even acknowledge them, refusing to sell at any price, leaving Wu Gonggao utterly without recourse.

For all that their ordinary clan cut a fine figure in the secular world, when measured against the hidden clans, they amounted to nothing at all.

Thus Wu Gonggao had repeatedly instructed the disciples of the household: should they ever learn of the Pi Clan's body-tempering elixir, whatever the cost, they must obtain it—for in the cultivation of the Wu family's Iron Hand Technique it would bring a qualitative leap. Not only would the pace of cultivation increase, but both strength and the toughness of the palm would rise enormously.

No one had spoken of it for so long that Wu Chengtian had nearly forgotten such elixir existed. But now, hearing Wei Zhao mention it so suddenly, all those old memories came rushing back at once.

"I do—and not just one bottle, several," Wei Zhao said. "I'll fetch them for you in a moment."

"Several bottles?" Wu Chengtian was all the more astonished. "Boss, the Pi Clan generally won't sell this elixir at all—you could say a single bottle is worth a thousand in gold and still unattainable. And you have several?"

"What's so strange about that? I got even the Hidden You Clan's Small Qi-Gathering Pills—a little body-tempering elixir from the Hidden Pi Clan is hardly beyond me," Wei Zhao said. "Is this stuff useful to you?"

"Useful isn't the word—it's profoundly useful!" Wu Chengtian nodded and spoke with solemn conviction. "With this body-tempering elixir, the speed of my external cultivation will more than double, and both my strength and the toughness of my iron palms will improve as well."

"Oh, then use it. If you run short, I'll get you more," Wei Zhao said.

"Gah?!" Wu Chengtian's jaw dropped at Wei Zhao's words. That he could obtain even these few bottles already seemed to him an immense stroke of fortune—and if he ran short, he could simply ask for more? The Hidden Pi Clan might possess a good supply of this body-tempering elixir, but surely they wouldn't hand it out for nothing?

"Oh, I forgot to tell you—Pi Zhishan and Pi Zhihai of the Hidden Pi Clan are my followers too. They're still in their trial period at present, but once they pass, they'll be your juniors as well," Wei Zhao said.

"Pff—cough, cough!" Wu Chengtian nearly choked in fright at Wei Zhao's words. "What? Pi Zhishan and Pi Zhihai—my juniors?"

"They pledged themselves to me later, so naturally they rank below you—just as you rank as the junior compared to Ergoudan, Kang**, and Fatty Lai," Wei Zhao said.

"Good heavens—the two heirs of the Hidden Pi Clan, juniors to me, Wu Chengtian?" Never had Wu Chengtian imagined he would one day amount to so much! Pi Zhishan and Pi Zhihai had become Wei Zhao's followers too? Then it was only fitting that they address Wu Chengtian as "Brother"—and they were still in their trial period, their acceptance by Wei Zhao depending entirely on their performance.

Such a thing Wu Chengtian would never have dared imagine in the past. Had it been the old days, meeting Pi Zhishan and Pi Zhihai, he would surely have fawned and flattered with the utmost deference. But now, he must strike a certain posture!

Simple enough: he was now Wei Zhao's full-fledged follower, a veteran in the eyes of Pi Zhishan and Pi Zhihai—and he must not lose face for Wei Zhao!

He wondered what Grandfather would think once he learned this news? Wu Chengtian felt an excitement rising in him that he could not suppress...

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