Wei Zhao could still trust Yu Xiaoke and Yu Dake. Of course, none of this really mattered—with Wei Zhao's current strength, what did it matter if someone coveted it? And how many people had already set their sights on him? More than one or two, that was certain.

"Oh... I see." Yu Xiaoke nodded, finding it quite novel. "Then... could you get one for me?"

"What would you want it for?" Wei Zhao asked, rather puzzled.

"That way, when I go thieving, I can just stash the loot in the space, and I won't have to worry about anyone catching me!" Yu Xiaoke said.

"..." Wei Zhao was momentarily speechless. "No! Don't you have enough money to spend as it is?"

"Well... I suppose it's enough..." Yu Xiaoke stuck out her tongue. The money Wei Zhao had given her was already more than sufficient to build the orphanage; there was no need for her to steal anymore. Her earlier words had been purely out of habit.

After filling the jade pendant's storage space, Wei Zhao made his way back to the place where the passage had let out. In this great hall, the only possible means of escape was the door ahead. Most likely, the Pao'li clan had also used that door to bring the white energy stones into this underground vault.

The three of them—Wei Zhao and his companions—arrived before that door. It was a stone door, sealed exceedingly tight, and it bore a strong resemblance to the ancient mechanisms found in old tombs. There was no device on it that might open it.

Wei Zhao frowned slightly. Though he could traverse those life-and-death passages, when it came to this mechanism door before him, he was somewhat at a loss. After all, this was not his forte.

"Heroine Yan, how do you think this door ought to be opened?" Wei Zhao turned his head toward Yu Xiaoke.

"Are you mocking me? You're so formidable—why would you need me?" Yu Xiaoke assumed that Wei Zhao truly was the Male Thief and must surely know how to crack it.

"The Male Thief was merely a false identity, just to help Qiu Lingshan catch Old Hei and those tomb robbers. The real husband-and-wife thieves died long ago!" Wei Zhao said with a bitter smile. "Did you really think I was actually some Male Thief?"

"Ah?" Yu Xiaoke was instantly stunned. So the Male Thief was merely a fictitious person? She knew Wei Zhao would not deceive her, but even so, she could not help feeling a little disappointed. So Wei Zhao was his original identity, and the Male Thief was merely a temporary fabrication. Deep down, Yu Xiaoke had actually rather hoped that this identity of Wei Zhao's was the fake one—that the Male Thief was his true self...

Yet Yu Xiaoke was, after all, a person who could weather storms, and she quickly adjusted her frame of mind. "So that's how it is... But why were you so formidable when you went through the life-and-death passage earlier? And in the ancient tomb, your puzzle-solving skills were also extremely formidable?"

"Formidable? It's nothing more than a perception of danger! I'm an alchemist, and my spiritual power is somewhat stronger, so I can sense these things!" Wei Zhao said. "Whether in the ancient tomb or the passage before, the puzzles I solved were all matters of life and death. But this is different—how to open this stone door, I truly do not know."

"Uh... all right then!" Yu Xiaoke nodded and began searching around the stone door. But clearly, the mechanism of this stone door was exceedingly ingenious; even for Yu Xiaoke, discovering its secret in a short time would not be easy.

……………………

Tuo'er Long knew a few friends in the Central Plains' cultivation world. Though none of them were particularly important figures, gathering information was still easy enough, and Wei Zhao's records soon reached Tuo'er Long's hands. Staring at that tiny single page of paper, Tuo'er Long was overcome with shock beyond measure. This... was Wei Zhao's life? It was truly too astounding, too brilliant!

Tuo'er Long dared not delay. He rushed the documents to his father, Tuo'er Riyue. "Father, the matter you had me investigate has yielded results. Here it is—please have a look. However... this Wei Zhao..."

"What is it?" Tuo'er Riyue, seeing Tuo'er Long's grave expression, asked hurriedly.

"Better that you see for yourself, Father... This Wei Zhao, a Heaven-rank expert, is actually only nineteen years old this year..." Tuo'er Long said with a bitter smile. Though he looked young, he was in fact already sixty years old this year—he had only broken through to Heaven rank at forty, and with his careful maintenance, he did not look so old. But this Wei Zhao did not merely look young; he truly was young!

"Nineteen? Isn't Kang Zhaoming also just nineteen?" Tuo'er Riyue did not take it to heart. "The Central Plains' cultivation world produces talents in every generation—this is entirely normal..."

"But Wei Zhao's Heaven rank is completely different from Kang Zhaoming's Heaven rank. One is an alchemist, the other a cultivator—these are not the same concept at all..." Tuo'er Long said. "Most importantly, when Wei Zhao first emerged half a year ago, he was only a Yellow-rank expert! That is to say, in a little over half a year, he surged to the mid-stage of Heaven rank. What kind of speed is that?! And that's not even counting this: at every rank, Wei Zhao could slay experts of higher rank than himself in an instant. At Yellow rank he fought Mystic rank, at Mystic rank he fought Earth rank, at Earth rank he fought Heaven rank—above Heaven rank he is essentially invincible, and even Tuo'er Tu was crippled by him..."

"It seems... our Pao'li clan truly has done one thing wrong!" Tuo'er Riyue, looking at the documents in his hand, was suddenly filled with deep regret.

"Yes. Aside from all that... there is one more most marvelous matter. Keep reading, Father, and you will see..." Tuo'er Long said with a bitter smile.

"What else could there be?" Tuo'er Riyue was slightly taken aback. Could there be anything more shocking than this? He hurriedly read on, and the more he read, the more shocked he became. Wei Zhao had actually been crippled several times? And not only Wei Zhao—the underlings around Wei Zhao had also been crippled several times, yet in the end all of them had gone off to seek revenge completely unharmed? What was going on here? Could Wei Zhao have top-grade fourth-tier Great Restoration Pills in his possession? And from the look of it, more than one?

Recalling further that Wei Zhao was the disciple of the Xuantian Patriarch Bai Lingtou, Tuo'er Riyue felt it all the more likely. At this thought, Tuo'er Riyue abruptly rose to his feet and said, "Come, go with me to the dungeon. I want to have a talk with Wei Zhao!"

"Yes, Father!" Tuo'er Long answered hurriedly. He knew that after reading these documents, his father would inevitably react this way! If not for his father's lack of orders earlier, he himself, after reading the documents, would have wanted to rush off first to see just how marvelous Wei Zhao really was.

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