Chapter 2105 — Giving Face

Everyone except Wei Zhao had already unleashed their martial techniques and stepped down from the field, waiting for the Zhao family disciples to tally the results. Yet Wei Zhao still stood there, motionless, without striking a blow!

This bizarre spectacle left even Han Tianba and Han Xiaohu somewhat puzzled. What on earth was Wei Zhao doing?

As a matter of fact, both Han Tianba and Han Xiaohu had witnessed Wei Zhao unleash the Myriad Transformations of the Forest technique back when he was staying with the hidden Han family, and both had been certain that Wei Zhao would win this martial contest hands down. But after seeing Pi Zhitao make his move, that conviction had begun to waver.

Wei Zhao's Myriad Transformations of the Forest was formidable to be sure, but Pi Zhitao's martial technique was no weakling either, so Han Tianba and Han Xiaohu grew anxious. Wei Zhao's prospects in this contest did not look good! In truth, in their earlier estimation, it would have been impressive enough for Wei Zhao simply to win the racing event, for the hidden Han family's original purpose in recruiting Wei Zhao had been precisely that race.

But after Wei Zhao won the hidden-weapons evasion contest the day before, Han Tianba and Han Xiaohu's hopes had swelled. They wanted Wei Zhao to keep on winning, one victory after another! In that way, the standing of the hidden Han family would rise along with him.

Although the hidden Han family had brought in outside help, this help was no outsider at all—it was the hidden Han family's leader, Wei Zhao!

"Xiaopo, with Mr. Lin's martial technique, he may not achieve an overwhelming victory, but second place is all but guaranteed!" Han Tianba was taking it philosophically. He might not be able to take first, but second place was honor enough. Though they would not win the wager, neither would they lose it—a respectable outcome, all things considered.

"Mm!" Han Xiaohu nodded, looking somewhat despondent and at a loss.

"Wei Zhao, are you going to unleash your martial technique or not?" Pi Zhifeng was on very close terms with Pi Zhitao, so naturally he had come to lend his support when Pi Zhitao entered the contest. Since Pi Zhitao had recognized Wei Zhao, Pi Zhifeng had of course recognized him as well. Now, nursing the grudge they had formed during the Ice Palace trials, his dislike for Wei Zhao burned all the hotter, and he questioned him with a sneer.

"The contest rules say there's a time limit, do they? And who do you think you are—you fancy yourself Elder Zhao?" Wei Zhao shot Pi Zhifeng a cold glance, then turned to Elder Zhao and said, "Elder Zhao, someone's impersonating you!"

"Impersonating me?" Elder Zhao was stunned, and it was a good while before he understood what Wei Zhao meant by "impersonating." Wei Zhao was accusing Pi Zhifeng of posing as him—and Elder Zhao's fury flared at once! That had not been Pi Zhifeng's meaning at all, but his words had indeed overstepped his place, and Elder Zhao had nowhere to direct his anger. He could only say coldly, "Pi Zhifeng, this contest truly has no such rule, so do not speak out of turn! But Wei Zhao, everyone is waiting on you—could you perhaps hurry it up?"

"Heh, very well—then I shall condescend to give you some face!" Wei Zhao said mildly. "I originally thought, since all of you haven't won a single contest, that you were rather pitiful, so I meant to forfeit this round. But Elder Zhao, from the look of you, you still want me to win! Very well, as you wish!"

No sooner had Wei Zhao's words faded than he began to make a show of circulating his mental cultivation method to draw upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Suddenly he brought his palms together and thrust them straight forward, shouting, "Vacuum Wave Punch!"

The Vacuum Wave Punch was no secret to these hidden families—Wei Zhao had used that very move when he fought the You family. So no one now suspected that what Wei Zhao was actually employing was not a martial technique at all, but his unique signature skill: the energy bomb!

Wei Zhao did this partly to conceal his trump card, and partly so that no one could spot the flaw and connect the earlier tire-blowout incident involving Zhao Qibing's car to him! After all, while driving a race car, it was impossible to split one's attention and unleash a martial technique—especially while rounding a curve; that would be nothing short of suicide.

"Boom—" With a deafening roar like mountains splitting and the earth rending, the boulder before Wei Zhao was blasted apart by his mighty "martial technique," bursting into countless fragments even smaller than pebbles and scattering in all directions!

Even this was Wei Zhao deliberately suppressing the energy bomb's power. Had he compressed it more fiercely, the boulder could well have been blown into dust and vanished entirely—but that would have been far too astonishing, so Wei Zhao refrained.

However, by circulating his inner-energy method, Wei Zhao had instantly exposed his true strength as well! In the previous two contests, Wei Zhao had used no true qi at all, so the family elders and sect masters watching had had no idea of his true power.

But now they could clearly sense that Wei Zhao possessed the strength of the early Earth rank! This was the result of deliberate suppression on Wei Zhao's part. In truth, he would have liked to suppress it even lower to mislead them, but at the Mystic rank one could not unleash a martial technique—suppressing himself to the Mystic rank would have been absurd and would have made people suspect that what he unleashed was no martial technique at all. So Wei Zhao could only suppress himself from the peak of the early Earth rank down to the early Earth rank.

"Early Earth rank?" Elder Zhao stared at Wei Zhao in disbelief, a flicker of astonishment crossing his eyes. Wei Zhao was of the early Earth rank? Was that even possible?

The other elders—the Yu family elder, the You family elder, and the rest—were likewise baffled. If Wei Zhao was of the early Earth rank, how had he slain three Earth-rank experts in an instant? Even granting that the martial technique Wei Zhao had just displayed was formidable, it was hardly enough to kill three Earth-rank fighters in a flash!

Could there be some hidden explanation? Had Wei Zhao been suppressing his strength, or were his other martial techniques even more formidable?

"My apologies—I never imagined that even after trying my best to hold back, unleashing a single punch with the shabbiest martial technique and the lowest possible strength, I would still win!" Wei Zhao shook his head and muttered to himself, "This victory was far too easy! But there's no help for it—the old man insisted I take the field, and I truly could not bring myself to forfeit. So I gave the old gentleman a little face!"

Pi Zhifeng's eyes brimmed with hatred. There was no doubt about it—one look at the pile of shattered stone Wei Zhao had left behind told him that Wei Zhao had won. He wanted desperately to curse Wei Zhao for putting on airs, and for brazenly sowing discord between the Zhao and Pi families!

This Wei Zhao actually claimed he had meant to forfeit, and that Elder Zhao had forced him to take the field! Was that not plainly saying that the Pi family should have won, but had lost because of a single word from Elder Zhao?

But Pi Zhifeng was no fool, and naturally would not fall for such provocation. He merely gave a cold snort and ignored it.

"Oh, that's right—actually, Elder Zhao isn't to blame. I misunderstood him!" Wei Zhao smiled faintly. "I had forgotten—it was you, Pi Zhifeng, who spoke up first to urge me on. If you hadn't urged me, I might well have given up!"