Chapter 516 — A Blessing in Disguise

Wei Zhao had not expected to be so unlucky. He had gone out of his way to save Feng Xiaoxiao — whether he had saved her or not, he was not sure — and in the process, he had dropped a level.

"I can see it. Your body has nothing in it now except a faint flicker of energy. Your condition is exactly the same as Feng Xiaoxiao's just now." Jiao Yazi had noticed something amiss long ago, which was precisely why he had told Wei Zhao to check on himself.

"Then... have I lost all my strength?" Wei Zhao felt somewhat glum but kept his wits about him. Dropping a level was done — wallowing in sorrow would accomplish nothing. The priority now was to understand the situation as quickly as possible and find a way out.

"Heh heh, that's right," Jiao Yazi said with a laugh. "Your energy ran out, so you dropped a level. It would be abnormal if you hadn't."

"What?" Seeing that Jiao Yazi could still chuckle at a time like this, Wei Zhao's expression turned rather peculiar. "Elder Jiao, why do I feel like you're gloating a little?"

"Not at all. I merely think — so you dropped a level. What of it? Peak late-stage Yellow-class strength is hardly something worth fussing over. Losing it changes nothing." Jiao Yazi waved his hand, his tone utterly nonchalant.

"Elder Jiao, it's easy for you to say. I have a great many enemies, you know..." Wei Zhao was rendered speechless. "At this rate, won't I have to go hide back in the mountains?"

"I say, Little Wei, you are entirely too spineless! One lost peak late-stage Yellow-class level, and you're already moping about crawling back home? Do you think you'll ever accomplish anything great?" Jiao Yazi gazed at Wei Zhao with undisguised mockery.

"Well... peak late-stage Yellow-class strength may count for nothing in your eyes, Elder Jiao, but at the very least it kept me alive..." Wei Zhao paused, a flicker of delight crossing his eyes. He looked at Jiao Yazi. "Elder Jiao — do you have a way to fix this?"

"A way? Don't you know?" Jiao Yazi regarded Wei Zhao with an almost-smile.

"If I knew, would I be asking you?" Wei Zhao replied with some exasperation. This Jiao Yazi seemed incorrigibly mischievous — a regular old-boy in an old man's body.

"I thought you did," Jiao Yazi said. "It's so simple. You dropped a level — just train again. Have you never played an online game?"

"Train... again?" Wei Zhao was deflated at once. "That is a method, I suppose, but wouldn't it be far too slow? It took me more than ten years just to reach the late stage of the Yellow class..."

"Your level in the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art has not dropped." Jiao Yazi fixed Wei Zhao with a level gaze and spoke quietly.

"The Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art... Oh!" The realization struck Wei Zhao like a bolt. Instinctively he activated the inner-art incantation of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art, and energy from the jade pendant's domain surged swiftly into his body. At the same time he probed the level of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art — sure enough, it was still the Second Stage!

"Now you understand? The Yellow class and so on is merely a rough grading system devised by certain people, based chiefly on the amount of energy within the body — what they call true qi. What you cultivate, however, is the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art. The mere First Stage of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art already corresponds to the strength of the late Yellow class."

"But won't it still take just as long to rebuild my energy?" Wei Zhao asked after a moment's hesitation.

"Have you ever played an online game?" Jiao Yazi, it turned out, was quite a fashionable old fellow — he even knew about online games.

"I have, a little." Wei Zhao nodded, though he could not see what this had to do with anything.

"Here is the situation in your body: you have lost your energy, but your level still exists!" Jiao Yazi explained. "It is exactly like an online game. Your level is there, but your experience points are gone. Now tell me — is it faster for a level-thirty character to carry a level-one character through leveling, or for a level-one character to grind his own way up to level thirty?"

"Oh!" Wei Zhao grasped Jiao Yazi's meaning at once. The analogy was homely, but perfectly apt! He was already at the power level of the Second Stage of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art — his current rate of cultivation should be many times faster than back when he had not even reached the First Stage. And when he further considered that he could still train within the jade pendant's domain, the difference in speed was simply on another level altogether!

"Understood?" Jiao Yazi looked at Wei Zhao, half amused. "It was never a big deal, yet you made such a fuss over it."

"Heh heh... I just didn't know, that's all." Wei Zhao felt a bit sheepish. He had indeed been too flustered with worry to think clearly. Now, on closer reflection, the logic was plain enough.

Wei Zhao activated the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art once more, and energy within the domain began to stir and flow. He took its measure — the speed was more than ten times what it had been during his original cultivation, and the purity of the energy was incomparably higher.

A measure of relief settled over his heart. His own problem resolved, Wei Zhao suddenly remembered that he still did not know how Feng Xiaoxiao was faring. He wanted to return to the real world to check on her, only to discover that this time, he could not go back.

In ordinary times, Wei Zhao could control in the jade pendant's space when he would wake, and he could also sense the state of his body in the outside world. Previously Wei Zhao had cared only about his own strength and had ignored what was happening outside; now, however, he discovered that he and his body out there seemed to have lost the connection they once had!

"Elder Jiao, can I not go back?" Though Wei Zhao felt some worry, the thought of Jiao Yazi's calm expression reassured him — if something had truly gone wrong with him, the old man would not be wearing that face! Having already been through the experience of recovering his strength before, Wei Zhao was not so frightened this time.

"Your strength is exhausted and you fell unconscious — naturally that is not the same as simply falling asleep." Jiao Yazi spoke blandly. "Recover some energy in the space, and you will be able to return of your own accord."

So that was it! Wei Zhao nodded to himself. It seemed no great problem after all. Since Jiao Yazi had confirmed it, Wei Zhao set his mind at ease and began to cultivate...

Time passed, second by second, and gradually Wei Zhao regained his connection with his body in the outside world... He sensed that Feng Xiaoxiao's breathing had grown smooth and even, and that her body no longer lacked all vitality as before but now carried faint ripples of energy. Wei Zhao let out a breath of relief. It seemed Feng Xiaoxiao should be all right now.

That also let him cultivate quietly in the jade pendant's space with peace of mind; otherwise, with his thoughts forever fretting over Feng Xiaoxiao's condition, Wei Zhao could never have settled down...

The energy within the jade pendant's space surged swiftly into Wei Zhao's body, and his strength grew at an inconceivable rate! This set Wei Zhao's heart completely at ease — at the present speed, it would not take long at all to recover his former strength!

It seemed Jiao Yazi had not deceived him. So long as the level of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art had not dropped, then even if all the energy in his body were utterly exhausted, it was no great problem.