Chapter 2246 — It Was Already Too Late

Except that this "deadlock" was only relative. It probably would not be long before the strange Heaven-Rank man was suppressed by the Grand Protector.

Wei Zhao's guess was soon confirmed. Though for the moment the Heaven-Rank man was not about to be defeated, his loss was only a matter of time.

Wei Zhao had no choice but to speed up the compression of his energy bomb. If he could compress all the true qi in his body into a single bomb, its destructive power would be truly terrifying. Back when he'd fought Ma Zhu head-on, his strength had been far below what it was now, and even then the energy bomb he'd unleashed with every ounce of his power had been astonishing. Now, compressing all his energy into one bomb—the power would likely be even more frightening!

To deal with this Grand Protector, Wei Zhao had no intention of holding back. He would use as much as he had, even if it meant damaging his own meridians. After all, the Heavenly Thunder Pig was still there, and failing that, the little Fire Lion and the mother Fire Lion could serve as backup!

And even if all of them were gone, there was still Sun Jingyan—a "lover" who could heal his wounds. Wei Zhao truly had no worries left.

Watching the strange Heaven-Rank man being played around in circles, the Grand Protector sneered inwardly. So what if you're an expert at the late-stage peak of the Heaven Rank? With your mind lost, haven't you simply become my defeated foe?

The Grand Protector's sneak attacks kept landing, and though the Heaven-Rank man's raw power was great, by now he had taken a fair amount of damage and his movements had grown somewhat sluggish. His legs especially had been struck time and again by the Grand Protector's soft whip. At first it had been nothing, but as the hits piled up, the Heaven-Rank man's legs were injured, and naturally his speed suffered.

Yet though Wei Zhao was anxious, he could not act rashly. His energy bomb had been compressing for so long and was only half done. He was now an expert of the mid-Earth Rank, and to gather all his true qi into one whole naturally took much longer than before.

So Wei Zhao could only watch helplessly as the Heaven-Rank man kept faltering, unable to do a thing.

"Old madman, go die!" The Grand Protector flicked his right hand, and the soft whip lashed toward the Heaven-Rank man's legs again. This was the weakness he had found! The strange Heaven-Rank man must have forgotten his martial techniques; he fought without method, relying entirely on personal valor. So if his legs were injured—or even broken—and his mobility impaired, then in the Grand Protector's eyes he would be a lamb waiting to be slaughtered!

The Heaven-Rank man did not think much of it. He simply raised the black iron staff in his hand to block the Grand Protector's soft whip. But he did not know that this was only a feint. The whip never met the black iron staff head-on; instead it gave a light flick, swung around his guard, and came lashing at his legs from another direction with savage force!

"Raging Seas and Wild Waves—Form Twelve!"

For this strike, the Grand Protector poured in every ounce of his power, even recklessly triggering the twelfth form of Raging Seas and Wild Waves, which drained his stamina. As an expert of the early Heaven Rank, being able to trigger the twelfth form of a martial technique was a remarkable feat—but considering his identity, and where he came from, it was hardly surprising.

"Master, watch out!" Wei Zhao could not help shouting when he saw the situation. But his shout came too late. The Heaven-Rank expert—even if only an early Heaven-Rank one—was incredibly fast. By the time Wei Zhao grasped his intent and called out a warning, it was already too late, in terms of time; and the strange Heaven-Rank man's reflexes were poor besides. Hearing Wei Zhao's words, he hesitated a moment longer before reacting—and the Grand Protector struck him dead on!

"Boom!"

A thunderous crash rang out, and a burst of bloody mist exploded from the Heaven-Rank man's leg. The Grand Protector's Raging Seas and Wild Waves carried the overwhelming force of mountains and seas, and even Wei Zhao, standing far off to the side, was caught in the shockwave. Swept by that ferocious, surging true qi, he staggered and fell sprawling to the ground!

Fortunately, Wei Zhao had been at some distance, and the Grand Protector's strike had been aimed at the Heaven-Rank man, so most of its force had landed on him. Wei Zhao was not much affected.

But the Heaven-Rank man was not so lucky. Struck by that blow, he dropped straight to his knees, letting out a bitter howl of agony and rage!

"How's that? Feels good, doesn't it, old madman? This is only the beginning!" The Grand Protector's strike had succeeded, and his confidence swelled to its peak. "Even if you're an expert at the late-stage peak of the Heaven Rank, I can grind you to death. With my current stamina, I can trigger the twelfth form of Raging Seas and Wild Waves at least five more times. Can you take five more?"

"Hmph!" Though the Heaven-Rank man's mind was damaged, he would not show weakness before an enemy. He staggered to his feet, and in a fury swung the black iron staff at the Grand Protector's face!

If triggering the twelfth form had not required a bit of ramping-up time—since it was a technique a bit beyond his level—the Grand Protector would have loved to hit him with another Raging Seas and Wild Waves, Form Twelve, and beat the old madman until he was crawling on the ground, unable to get up.

"Raging Seas and Wild Waves—Form Eleven!" He could not trigger the twelfth form consecutively, but he could pair it with the eleventh, alternating fast and slow, and still kill the Heaven-Rank man all the same.

"Crack..."

The Heaven-Rank man, already wounded and unsteady on his legs, had his black iron staff caught by the Grand Protector's soft whip. One twist and one flick, and the Grand Protector flung him flying again, sending him crashing heavily to the ground!

Wei Zhao was frantic with worry! That Raging Seas and Wild Waves, Form Twelve, had been the turning point of this duel. The Heaven-Rank man's legs were now completely shattered—though he could still barely stand, Wei Zhao could see that he was forcing himself, and his leg bones had probably cracked long ago.

At this rate, the Heaven-Rank man could not last a few more exchanges before he was defeated!

Think about it—what use was an expert without his legs? A normal late-stage peak Heaven-Rank expert might have other tricks, but this strange Heaven-Rank man with his damaged mind, robbed of his legs, probably had nothing left to do but take a beating!

Yet anxious as Wei Zhao was, his true-qi energy bomb was only two-thirds compressed; a third of his true qi remained uncompressed. Wei Zhao dared not—and could not—act rashly! If this one strike failed against the Grand Protector, then these "master and disciple" would truly be buried here.

At that thought, Wei Zhao hesitated for a moment, but in the end he pulled a small bottle from his bosom, poured out a pill, and tossed it straight into his mouth!

This was the Ultimate Vigor Golden Pill he had traded from the hidden Tang family at the Hidden World Clan Summit. Once taken, it maximized the circulation speed of one's internal-energy cultivation method!

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