Chapter 2771 — Can't Shake Him Off

If that was the case, then this Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect probably really did exist. But who had that expert been speaking to when he shouted "Wei Zhao kills me" before he died? Could he have been carrying some kind of communication device? Reporting back to his headquarters?

Still, all of that was secondary. Once he got back, if he had the chance, he would ask Chief Bai about this Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect. Chief Bai had once been the head of the Five Luminaries Sect, which stood even higher than the ancient order—if this organization truly existed, then Elder Bai ought to know something about it.

Wei Zhao rapidly recovered his strength, little knowing that far away, another man in black was racing toward this very spot at top speed!

When the Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect carried out a mission, it was usually with three people. This man in black was the leader of that particular team—only, he had not come when they ambushed Wei Zhao. In his estimation, Wei Zhao was a single Earth-rank expert; two early Heaven-rank fighters were more than enough to finish him. But the last message he had received was "Wei Zhao kills me." Which meant both of his team members were dead?

He could not believe it, yet he could no longer reach either of them—their communicator signals had cut off there as well! Horrified, the man in black hurried toward the scene! His steps flew, his brows knitted tight, his eyes full of coldness. He was one of the Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect's gold-medal assassins, possessed of late Heaven-rank strength!

An assassin of that caliber rarely stirred himself to kill ordinary targets. To him, Wei Zhao—an Earth-rank cultivator—was hardly worth a butcher's cleaver for a chicken. What two of his team members could accomplish, there was no need for him to trouble himself over!

So he had waited in the nearest small town. Just moments ago, he had been enjoying himself atop a prostitute's belly—and then, all at once, the dreadful news arrived...

Even so, he dared not believe that both of his team members had met with disaster. It was a little too unreal, beyond his comprehension—how could an Earth-rank expert possibly kill two early Heaven-rank experts? Unless he had accomplices!

Wei Zhao recovered his strength swiftly, but before it was fully restored, he keenly sensed that someone was coming—someone racing toward him at extraordinary speed. The man was still far off, though, too distant for Wei Zhao to gauge his rank.

Friend or foe, Wei Zhao could not tell, though most likely not a friend—especially given what that other early Heaven-rank expert had said before dying, which had left Wei Zhao with a very bad premonition...

Sure enough, as the man drew closer and closer, Wei Zhao's jade pendant flared with a violent warning signal! This man, it seemed, was extremely dangerous. If his life were not under threat, the pendant would never have warned so fiercely.

Wei Zhao cursed inwardly. His physical strength and true qi had only just recovered a small fraction—there was no way he could unleash a major move like the seventh or eighth stance of the Frenzied Fire Eight-Trigram Palm. At best he could manage the fifth stance; even the sixth might be a stretch.

As for a true-qi bomb, that was not even worth considering. For one thing, there was no time to compress it; for another, the energy and true qi currently in his body were simply insufficient.

Five hundred meters away, a dark figure came racing toward him, and Wei Zhao could now make out the newcomer's rank clearly—late Heaven-rank!

Wei Zhao's heart lurched. Was this not out to claim his life? Never mind a late Heaven-rank—even one more early Heaven-rank and he would be no match. In his present condition, he could barely hold his own against an expert of his own rank.

Of all the thirty-six stratagems, running away was the best. The instant the man drew near, Wei Zhao sprang to his feet and bolted. He could not spare a thought for his car—so long as the green hills remained, there would be no shortage of firewood. If he died, the natural treasures and Heaven-rank weapons in that car would end up in someone else's pocket anyway. So Wei Zhao did not hesitate for a moment; he simply ran.

The man in black was taken aback to see Wei Zhao suddenly leap up and flee, but he did not hesitate. Without so much as a glance at the two corpses on the ground or Wei Zhao's car, he gave chase!

His mission was to kill Wei Zhao. As for what was in Wei Zhao's car, he neither knew nor cared. And the corpses—this was desolate wilderness; no one would pass by. He could come back to collect his comrades' bodies after finishing Wei Zhao.

Wei Zhao dared not slacken. A late Heaven-rank expert! Though his Butterfly Micro-Step qinggong gave him an edge in speed, he dared not grow arrogant—who was to say whether this newcomer also knew qinggong?

If he did—even a clumsy, third-rate version like Yu Xiaoke's—then he was finished. A late Heaven-rank expert was in a different weight class from him in terms of physical strength and true qi. If Wei Zhao could not shake the man behind him, sooner or later his strength would give out, he would stop, and he would be killed.

"Aah—" At that moment Wei Zhao erupted. He had no choice but to erupt. He wished he could turn into a Wind-Thunder Purple Lightning Beast, running forward with all his might.

After about ten minutes of running, Wei Zhao felt he must have shaken off his pursuer by now. He had seen the Rock Candy Girl's qinggong for himself—at his current speed, even the Rock Candy Girl probably could not catch him!

But when Wei Zhao looked back, he got the shock of his life! The man in black was still behind him. True, the distance was unchanged—he had not closed in; if anything, he had fallen a little farther back. But that was the result of Wei Zhao's burst of speed, and Wei Zhao could not stay in a burst state forever. So the gap had widened a little—hardly cause for celebration, since the man in black would easily make up that small difference!

What truly unnerved Wei Zhao, of course, was this: how could the man in black run so fast? He was using the Butterfly Micro-Step qinggong—in theory, the other man should not have been able to keep up at all. Yet he had not been shaken off. Something was deeply strange about this!

Wei Zhao was certain the man must have some secret technique. Otherwise, normally, facing a late Heaven-rank expert, even if he could not win, he should at least be able to barely escape. But now this man seemed to match his speed exactly—he could not shake him off.

But there was nothing Wei Zhao could do. Never mind how the man had caught up—Wei Zhao could only run with all his might. Feeling his physical strength and true qi slowly draining away, he grew anxious in secret. Though he was not unleashing any martial technique, sustaining qinggong at such high intensity for so long was itself an extremely draining affair!