That was also why only the hidden houses and sects could claim Earth-rank experts of their own, and why those Earth-rank experts were bound by covenant never to enter the secular world -- they were simply too dangerous! It was a dividing line. To step into Earth-rank was to step into the reserve camp for Sky-rank, to gain the chance of one day becoming a Sky-rank expert!

Once a man became a Sky-rank expert, his lifespan would be lengthened. It was the realm every Earth-rank expert dreamed of in his sleep. As for any realm still higher, they did not even dare to dream of it, for men had once pursued it, and those men had never been heard from again...

"Are you certain you can kill me in a single move?" Wei Zhao was anxious at heart. His compression of energy was only half complete, and he had not expected this Old Mr. Yu to lose patience so soon and prepare to finish him off in one blow. Outwardly, though, he showed nothing as he stalled for time.

"A joke! If I needed even half a move, you would die all the same!" At Wei Zhao's doubt, Old Mr. Yu looked as though he had suffered some great insult, and flew into a rage on the spot.

"Is that so? Then you have already thrown so many moves at me, so how am I still not dead?" Wei Zhao said slowly and unhurriedly, while urging himself inwardly: faster, faster, faster, it is almost ready...

If Shen Yushu and Feng Xiaoxiao had heard Wei Zhao's inner voice, they would surely have taken it entirely the wrong way... The eldest miss and Tang Yun were rather innocent. Well, they probably would not read too much into it...

"That was just this old man toying with you. Could you not tell?" Old Mr. Yu was about to burst with anger. What sort of eyesight did this brat have, that he could not even tell he had been played with before? Did he really think this was the full extent of his skill?

"I truly could not tell." Wei Zhao nodded solemnly, speaking as if he meant every word.

"Wah-yah-yah-yah, you will be the death of me, old man! Take your death!" Old Mr. Yu swung out a fist and smashed it toward Wei Zhao. One could see the punch gathered his full ten parts of power, clearly meant to settle Wei Zhao in a single move.

Wei Zhao sighed inwardly. In the end he was still just short, unable to complete the compression of energy. He had already dragged things out as long as he could, but this old man would give him no more chance!

"Go to hell!" In the instant Old Mr. Yu rushed in, Wei Zhao hurled out his energy bomb, then fell back swiftly. With this strike he did not hope to blast Old Mr. Yu to death, for even a one-hundred-percent compressed energy bomb might not kill an Earth-rank expert, let alone his own incomplete version.

Once this blow was loosed, the thunderous blast it made would be enough to wake everyone present. When they all came out, Wei Zhao did not believe this Old Mr. Yu would dare keep fighting! If he truly meant to expose himself, he would never have needed to skulk about in the first place. He would likely have slaughtered everyone in the ancient tomb in broad daylight.

For an Earth-rank expert, that would have been no difficult task! Wei Zhao guessed that the reason he had not done so was that he meant to use these people as cannon fodder inside the tomb.

"Boom--" The energy bomb exploded right before Old Mr. Yu, blasting the right arm he had thrust out into a mangled mess of flesh and blood. In Wei Zhao's eyes, however, it was likely only a wound. After rest and care, the arm could still be used. He had failed to inflict any greater harm!

Even so, Wei Zhao was well content. After the great blast, he fell swiftly back into his own tent, certain that Old Mr. Yu would likewise hide himself in haste! After all, that earth-shaking crash, though not so mighty in effect as the complete energy bomb Wei Zhao had once used against Ma Zhu, was still world-shaking enough. In this silent valley, only a deaf man could have failed to hear it.

Old Mr. Yu had his arm blown wounded for no reason at all, and was so furious that smoke seemed to pour from all his orifices: "Wah-yah-yah-yah, you wretch, how dare you plot against this old man! What crooked sorcery did you use?"

Old Mr. Yu had never heard of any energy true-qi bomb, and took it for granted that Wei Zhao had used some modern weapon like a hand grenade. Yet even a Profound-rank expert wrapped in protective true qi was already hard to wound, and he was now an Earth-rank expert. How could he possibly be hurt by a grenade?

Though Old Mr. Yu was baffled to the extreme, he also knew the great blast Wei Zhao had set off had already wakened everyone present. He could only endure the pain and hide himself in frustration, wondering to himself whether Wei Zhao had used something like nitroglycerin.

At such close range, even he with his protective true qi had been blasted into this state. Wei Zhao was but a trifling Profound-rank expert. Even if he had dodged backward, he must be badly hurt as well. Thinking of it that way, Old Mr. Yu felt a little more balanced. Gloomily, he fished a bottle of healing medicine from his pocket and sprinkled it over his arm...

Old Mr. Yu's guess was correct. Even though Wei Zhao this time had the experience to dodge backward, and even though the energy bomb was not the complete version, Wei Zhao was still wounded by the blast. Only he gritted his teeth against the pain and made it back to his tent.

Once inside the tent, a flush spread across Wei Zhao's face. With a "wah" he spat a mouthful of fresh blood onto the ground, then sat down cross-legged with a darkened face and entered the jade pendant space.

Qiu Lingshan and Chen Yutian had also been wakened by the earlier blast. Just as they were wondering what had happened, they saw Wei Zhao come through the door, spit blood, and sit down cross-legged. They wanted to ask what was wrong with him, but dared not disturb him now, and could only wait anxiously to one side.

Before long, footsteps sounded outside the tent, followed by a voice speaking: "Husband-and-Wife Thieves, please come to Brother Black's tent for a talk!"

Qiu Lingshan and Chen Yutian exchanged a glance. Chen Yutian walked straight out of the tent, glared at the man speaking in the distance, and said: "What are you shouting for? Are you calling back souls? Our master is busy with private business. Wait a bit!"

"Ah?" The man of Brother Black's who had come for the Husband-and-Wife Thieves froze at Chen Yutian's words. Busy with private business? What did that mean? Then, thinking it over, it began to dawn on him. In the dead of night, could these Husband-and-Wife Thieves be... doing that? It seemed quite possible. No wonder they had this big fool standing guard at the door! With that thought, the underling said: "Did you not hear that huge blast just now?"

"I heard it. Whether our master heard it, I do not know. Anyway, they never came out from inside." Chen Yutian said flatly.

"Ah? Like that... all right, then when they are finished, tell them to come to Brother Black's tent." The underling thought to himself that it was only natural to hear nothing outside while doing that sort of thing, so he thought no more of it and went off to call on the others.

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