Whether it was Wei Zhao or Ling Tianyou, both were targets he must eliminate. Unfortunately, because of orders from the higher-ups at the Center, he simply lacked the nerve to touch Wei Zhao, while Ling Tianyou was the very lifeblood of the Thousand Blades Sect — move against that one, and the entire sect would fight him to the death. With his current strength, that would be no different from setting himself on fire.

"Hmph. The Thousand Blades Sect was one of the four great sects and families in its day, and though it has since fallen into decline, it remains a righteous orthodox sect. Ling Tianyou is the sect master of the Thousand Blades Sect — how could he possibly resort to such despicable, underhanded means?" Xin Yi'an cast Xue Jianming a look of contempt. An honorable man would never do such a thing, but clearly Xue Jianming felt no pressure whatsoever about employing that sort.

Xue Jianming gave a scornful snort. In the past he would have minded his image, but after being crippled twice his nature had changed utterly — especially now that he had secretly thrown in his lot with the Center, willing to stop at nothing to achieve his ends. Poisoning needles and other such vile tricks were naturally nothing to him.

Just then, Bing Wushuang suddenly spoke up: "Even if the needles truly were poisoned, Ling Tianyou could not harm Wei Zhao in the slightest."

"What?" Everyone present was startled. Looking closer, they finally realized: though Ling Tianyou's nine hundred ninety-nine flying needles had Wei Zhao surrounded so tightly that not a single gap remained, and by all rights such an assault should have been impossible to guard against, Wei Zhao had not been pricked even once up to now. Ninety percent of the needle attacks he had evaded with his movement techniques, and as for the remaining ten percent, every time they drew near his body they were blocked by his protective true qi, unable to advance an inch, much less inflict any harm.

"Such powerful protective true qi!" The crowd clicked their tongues in amazement. At the level of great consummation of the Foundation Establishment stage, when one gave it one's all, the protective true qi was indeed formidable enough to block ordinary fist, palm, and blunt-weapon attacks. But Ling Tianyou's weapons were flying needles — practically the natural nemesis of protective true qi. Guarding against ordinary attacks took only one part true qi, but facing flying needles took ten.

And Wei Zhao was only a great consummation Foundation Establishment cultivator — not even a Golden Core expert. How could his protective true qi be so formidable?

"Hah, what use is strong protective true qi? Even if Wei Zhao can hold out for a while, sooner or later Ling Tianyou will wear him out. The way I see it, that salted fish Wei Zhao isn't going to turn things around. And to think he calls himself the martial uncle of the Cangwu Sect of the North Island — and now he's been beaten by a lower-ranked challenger, the very first one at that. He's disgraced himself beyond redemption." Xue Jianming seized the moment to jeer.

Xin Yi'an frowned at this but did not refute it aloud. At least judging by appearances, Wei Zhao's situation was indeed less than favorable. As long as he could not shake off the siege of nine hundred ninety-nine flying needles, he could only rely on his protective true qi to trade endurance with Ling Tianyou — and for every part Ling Tianyou expended, he would expend ten or even a hundred. The outcome of such a course was self-evident.

Bing Wushuang, by contrast, was entirely unimpressed — though he let none of it show on his face. He had crossed hands with Wei Zhao. Even he, a late Golden Core expert, had been unable to do anything about Wei Zhao's methods, let alone Ling Tianyou, who stood only at the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage.

As for Qiu Lingshan and the others, they were even less worried. Even if their level made it hard for them to discern the finer details, they had absolute confidence in Wei Zhao. What did a thousand blades flying in unison amount to?

Time slipped by, bit by bit. Wei Zhao remained trapped within the siege of nine hundred ninety-nine flying needles, the scene as tense and deadlocked as before. This war of attrition unfolded exactly as the crowd had expected — but what surprised them was that Wei Zhao had held out until now without suffering the slightest injury. More outrageous still, he actually looked to be handling it with ease, showing not the least sign of having reached his limit.

This kid can really take a beating! Xue Jianming frowned as he watched. Compared with Ling Tianyou, that potential formidable rival, he was now more inclined to see Wei Zhao disgraced — after all, the enmity between him and Wei Zhao was written in blood. He spoke up at once: "Uncle-Master Xin, it's been nearly two sticks of incense. Are we to let them keep burning each other out like this? It's completely pointless. There ought to be a time limit, surely?"

"There is no time limit. Every match in the Trial Grand Tournament has only two possible outcomes: a decisive victory, or a concession. There is no third possibility," Xin Yi'an said with a curl of his lip.

"You speak of ordinary matches, but this is a cross-rank challenge — surely it can't drag on forever. Are we to make everyone stand here waiting the whole time? Two sticks of incense have passed, and anyone can see who is superior and who is inferior. Uncle-Master Xin, you wouldn't happen to be letting private bias make you favor your own Cangwu Sect of the North Island, would you?" Xue Jianming said in that veiled, insinuating tone.

"Oh? Who is superior and who is inferior? This old man hasn't seen it. Why don't you enlighten us all, Xue Jianming?" Xin Yi'an snorted coldly.

"Why, obviously it's—" Xue Jianming was about to declare that Wei Zhao's defeat was already plain to see when, over there, Wei Zhao's figure suddenly flickered and he appeared right in front of Ling Tianyou.

Xue Jianming was instantly choked speechless. The rest of the crowd erupted in an uproar as well. Wei Zhao had been trapped for so long that everyone assumed he was at his wit's end — who would have thought he could come out just like that, as easily as if he were playing? Had he been toying with Ling Tianyou this entire time?

The crowd stared, dumbstruck. Ling Tianyou, the man at the center of it all, was drenched in a cold sweat. The speed Wei Zhao had displayed earlier had been frightening enough, but the speed of that instant was several times greater still — such astonishing speed was simply beyond imagining.

Yet what shocked Ling Tianyou even more was something else. His nine hundred ninety-nine flying needles had clearly enclosed Wei Zhao tight and whole, without a single gap or flaw from beginning to end — so how had he burst out without a scratch?!

Before Ling Tianyou could react any further, Wei Zhao had lost all interest in continuing to play with him. A single unstoppable Wildfire Thousand Legs came straight at his face — after all, he had probed about as much as there was to probe. This Ling Tianyou might have boundless potential, but for the time being he was still far from becoming a force to be reckoned with. There would be time enough in the days to come.

Wei Zhao's Wildfire Thousand Legs came with tremendous speed, and since he himself had appeared so abruptly, it was all the harder to guard against. Even a Golden Core expert like Xin Yi'an could not have dodged it completely.

Yet Ling Tianyou, with a timely donkey-roll, actually managed to narrowly evade the onrushing Wildfire Thousand Legs. Clumsy as it looked, it was still enough to make Wei Zhao regard him with new respect — and the onlookers beside them gasped in admiration as well.