Chapter 2376 — Mutual Destruction?

He wanted to rest, but he heard Wei Zhao continue, "Again!"

"…" Piao Laoliu was truly at a loss for words. He badly wanted to shout at Wei Zhao: *Damn it, are you some kind of cockroach? Can't you take a break before coming at me again? How is an ordinary mid-Earth-Rank expert like you still not dead? Are you even mid-Earth-Rank at all?*

In truth, Wei Zhao had rested a while—he had to heal his wounds. But that span of time, which felt so long to Wei Zhao, felt very short to Piao Laoliu, because his own injuries grew graver with each exchange, and though Wei Zhao's wounds likewise worsened after each healing, he could still hold on.

Of course, Wei Zhao saw it too: at this rate, he himself would soon be finished. But before he was finished, Piao Laoliu would surely be finished first! Once the man was done for, Wei Zhao could heal at ease.

There was no help for it—Piao Laoliu could only strike again. But he was a spent arrow; he knew full well in his heart that this would likely be his final strike. One more blow from Wei Zhao, and he would certainly not live.

So he poured out every ounce of true qi in his body, wanting to deal Wei Zhao one ultimate, fatal blow: "Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending Claw—Tenth Style!"

"Frenzied Fire Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending Claw—Fifth Style!" Wei Zhao very much wanted to unleash the Wood Forest Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending Claw's fifth style, but his previous attempt had failed! So Wei Zhao did not dare try it lightly again—what if it failed once more?

By now Wei Zhao had somewhat lost his initial brimming confidence in his "universal martial arts." After all, the "Spring Rain from Heaven" technique had failed to unleash as well, so this failure with the Wood Forest Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending Claw was not too unexpected.

It was just that Wei Zhao was a little puzzled; he had not figured out the specific cause.

"Bang!" "Bang!"

This blow was indeed fatal for Wei Zhao. His injuries piled upon injuries; though he kept repairing himself without pause, the healing could not keep pace with the damage. Knocked flying by Piao Laoliu, he crashed heavily to the ground, without even the strength to crawl up.

What had let Wei Zhao fight on just now was sheer force of conviction—one breath of belief that had carried him this far! But Wei Zhao smiled: Piao Laoliu's condition was far from encouraging. Wei Zhao was a physician and could easily tell that the man's vital signs were ebbing; he would likely die very soon.

So Wei Zhao calmly set the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art in motion and began to heal, without even the strength to sit up.

Piao Huotai glanced at Piao Laoliu's corpse, a complicated look flickering in his eyes. Though he might not have regarded a mere guard like Piao Laoliu as worth much, the man had after all followed him for so long. And this time, having killed Wei Zhao here, he too had to leave—he could no longer fight Zhu Qishou. He feared that the power behind Wei Zhao would come knocking.

At that thought, Piao Huotai strode quickly into the inner room of the private box, hoisted up the unconscious Chen Xi—arms and legs bound—and hurried out of the box, not even bothering with Piao Laoliu's corpse. A man dead is a lamp snuffed out; in his view, dead was dead. When he returned, he would advise his father and master to give the man's son good care, and that would repay the debt.

Though Wei Zhao lay prone on the ground healing within the jade pendant's space, his perception could still sense the scene outside. Seeing that Piao Huotai would still, at a time like this, not forget to take Chen Xi away, he was at once shocked and furious!

In Wei Zhao's original estimation, with Piao Laoliu beaten to death by his hand, Piao Huotai would surely choose to retreat—to slink off with Piao Laoliu's corpse as fast as he could. But Wei Zhao had never imagined that this creature would abandon even Piao Laoliu's body and instead carry Chen Xi away. It was frankly incomprehensible to Wei Zhao!

Could this thing's lechery truly reach such a degree? Even in a situation like this, he did not forget to take Chen Xi with him—what kind of person was this!

But Wei Zhao wanted to stop him and was too badly hurt—he simply could not climb to his feet! And even if he stood, he might not be able to bar the way, for this creature Piao Huotai was practically impervious to blade and spear. To deal with him would be even harder than with Piao Laoliu!

Piao Laoliu could be targeted with that Frenzied Fire Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending Claw, but Piao Huotai was different. This creature did not fear blows; striking him was useless.

Seeing Piao Huotai about to step out the box's door, Wei Zhao was seized with alarm. Heedless of his injuries, he scrambled up from the ground regardless of everything and roared at Piao Huotai, "Stop!"

"!" Piao Huotai was given a great fright by Wei Zhao's roar, for in his earlier judgment Wei Zhao and Piao Laoliu must have perished together—after all, both had lain motionless on the ground. Piao Huotai had subconsciously assumed both were dead. But who would have thought Wei Zhao would rise again, as if back from the dead?

"You're not dead?" Piao Huotai started, turning back to look at Wei Zhao, who stood tottering to his feet. Then he laughed. "A spent arrow—what can you do to me? You've probably guessed by now that I have no offensive martial arts, but you absolutely cannot stop me from leaving, because my defense is formidable—you can't kill me! It's good that you're not dead. I'll be going first—till we meet again, or never!"

In Piao Huotai's view, since Wei Zhao was alive, the sect behind him could not be too enraged. He also knew that those great sects of Huaxia possessed some top-grade third-tier elixirs. With elixirs, he believed, Wei Zhao's recovery was only a matter of time, and the sect behind him would not cross mountains and rivers to seek trouble with him in Southeast Asia.

"You…" Wei Zhao was unwilling, yet he had to admit Piao Huotai was telling the truth, for at this moment he truly could not defeat Piao Huotai. The man was impervious to blade and spear, much like those external-school cultivators who trained in the Golden Bell Shield and Iron Shirt. To keep him here without a true qi bomb was impossible.

But in Wei Zhao's current state, even healing was a strain—where would a true qi bomb come from to use against him? So Wei Zhao, with no other choice, was frantic yet helpless. His injuries unhealed, he still had to grit his teeth and fight!

"Frenzied Fire Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending Claw—Fifth Style!" Wei Zhao did not know whether the Frenzied Fire Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending Claw would work on Piao Huotai, but he did know that the earlier Frenzied Fire Eight-Trigram Palm's fifth style had done Piao Huotai no harm. So he could only try the Frenzied Fire Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending Claw.

"Hmph!" Seeing that Wei Zhao still dared to attack, Piao Huotai was somewhat irritated. His brow furrowed slightly, and who knew what technique he summoned: "You won't shed tears till you see the coffin!"