"Is that so? Then I miscalculated." Wei Zhao nodded frankly.

Beside him, Qiu Lingshan and the others exchanged glances at this scene. Their present situation ought to have been desperately dangerous; in theory, everyone but Wei Zhao stood a very good chance of meeting a tragic end, wiped out to the last man. Yet listening to Wei Zhao trade words with those two great creatures, they felt an inexplicable sense of reassurance, as though everything were firmly within his grasp.

That thought gave them all a start. Wei Zhao was, at present, only at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage. Facing a Primeval Jumang King and a giant Red-Scaled Serpent that might well join forces, he ought to have been utterly helpless—so how could he possibly be in control? Could it be that their long-standing extreme admiration and absolute trust in Wei Zhao had bred in them a comfortable, self-deceiving illusion?

"Of course you miscalculated. Be a good little tribute and stay put." Before the words had faded, the Primeval Jumang King suddenly loosed four giant wind blades in succession, stacking them into a cross-hatched, vertical lattice as they came. Their placement was exact and deliberate, sealing off every avenue of escape. Unless Wei Zhao meant to take one of those giant wind blades head-on, he had no choice but to stay right where he was.

Taking a giant wind blade from the Primeval Jumang King head-on—such a mad notion was one even Qiu Lingshan and the others, who revered and trusted Wei Zhao to the marrow of their bones, dared not entertain. This was not Wei Zhao's true body, after all, only a spirit-form at the peak of Foundation Establishment. And that would mean real death.

Wei Zhao's choice surprised no one. Even as the four giant wind blades fell at once, he did not stir so much as an inch.

And the very next instant, just when everyone was sure this was his opening to flee, the Red-Scaled Serpent was already there above his head, its huge, hideous skull less than a meter from Wei Zhao.

No one could have anticipated it. The Primeval Jumang King and the Red-Scaled Serpent had actually chosen to join forces. Without a single word exchanged between them, their coordination was flawless. Were these two really sworn enemies of the same blood feud?

Wei Zhao frowned. The rest he could tolerate, but that stench—that piercing, nauseating reek—was truly unbearable. Even in his spirit-form, he could not help a wave of revulsion rising in him.

"Brother, how many years has it been since you last brushed your teeth?" Even now, Wei Zhao somehow still had the mood for a cold joke.

"Ssss, still putting on a brave face at a time like this. You humans really are a pack of hypocrites. But you won't get another chance." With that, the Red-Scaled Serpent flung its enormous maw wide and made to swallow Wei Zhao whole.

Qiu Lingshan and the others paled in horror. Wei Zhao himself, by contrast, showed no particular reaction; he merely muttered, "Aren't tributes supposed to be taken alive?"

"Ssss, once you're in my belly, you won't be dying for a good while yet!" The Red-Scaled Serpent cackled with a gleeful hiss and snapped its jaws down with a crunch.

"Is that so? What a pity, then. Another time I might actually enjoy the experience, but today will have to do without. So many people are waiting on me—best I send you on your way first." As the words fell, Wei Zhao did not retreat or dodge. Instead he stepped forward to meet it, thrusting his left hand straight into that vast maw.

"Haha! Wonders never cease, and this year they come thick and fast—here's one walking right into his own death!" The Primeval Jumang King sneered at the sight. True, this meant the Red-Scaled Serpent had been handed a free prize, but there were still plenty of tributes standing down there. Letting one go was no great loss.

But before its laughter had died away, the Red-Scaled Serpent's body below suddenly began to swell with alarming speed, like a balloon inflating. The Primeval Jumang King froze. What kind of technique was this? It had never seen the Red-Scaled Serpent use anything of the sort.

Moments later, the serpent's long, narrow body had bulged into an enormous balloon, swelling to the very limit of what flesh could bear. Then, with a bang, it burst on the spot, blown into countless fragments in a rain of blood that filled the sky, the stench of gore choking the air.

The Primeval Jumang King was dumbstruck. So were Qiu Lingshan and the rest. A deathly silence fell over the whole scene.

"Wh—what just happened?" Wu Chengtian and the others stared at one another. Even they could not take it in all at once: a Red-Scaled Serpent of such fearsome power, killed by Wei Zhao in a single move.

"Brother Wei Zhao is amazing!" Ying Ziyu, for her part, gave it no more thought than that. However earth-shaking a thing Wei Zhao did, she never found it strange in the least—how else could he be her Brother Wei Zhao?

"No wonder he deliberately kept his distance from us. So this was why." Her gaze, cool as it rested on Wei Zhao, glimmered with something bright. She had not known he possessed a killing move of such terrifying, heaven-defying power; still less had she known he could slay something like the Red-Scaled Serpent in a single strike. But she could fathom his intent: had they all been standing too close, then even with a heaven-defying killing move in hand, he would not have dared unleash it—otherwise the first to die would have been the lot of them.

"You... just what manner of being are you?!" The Primeval Jumang King's voice had begun to stammer. The Red-Scaled Serpent had long been its old rival and old foe; they had fought a dozen or more battles, great and small, and knew each other inside and out, their strength always evenly matched. Never in its wildest dreams had it imagined the Red-Scaled Serpent would simply go bang and die at Wei Zhao's hands—and what was more, even now it had no idea what method Wei Zhao had actually used.

"Me? Nothing but a humble human tribute!" Wei Zhao shrugged with an air of perfect innocence, as though disposing of the Red-Scaled Serpent had truly been a trifling matter to him.

The more Wei Zhao behaved this way, the more unfathomable he seemed to the Primeval Jumang King. Instinctively it flew a stretch higher, terrified that it too might follow in the Red-Scaled Serpent's wake and die at this human's hands for no reason it could comprehend.

"Who are you, really?!" the Primeval Jumang King demanded, studying Wei Zhao anew with care.

"Even if I gave you my name, it wouldn't mean much, would it? Surely you haven't heard of my illustrious name in a place like this?" Wei Zhao was amused despite himself, then said offhandedly, as though it were nothing: "Judging by how nervous you look, I take it you're no longer thinking of making me a tribute?"

"Fine. You may go," the Primeval Jumang King agreed at once.

"Good. In that case, let's be off." Wei Zhao turned at once to call out to Qiu Lingshan and the others, and without another word set off at a stride.

"Hold it. You may go. Everyone else stays." The Primeval Jumang King's sharp voice cut him off. (To be continued.)