Chapter 3016 — Solving One, But What They Feared Was That While Dealing with the Heaven-Rank Monstrous Fellow, Wei Zhao Would Launch a Sneak Attack

And so both of them began to think of beating a retreat, planning to seize the moment when the Heaven-Rank monstrous fellow was distracted and make their escape.

The Heaven-Rank monstrous fellow turned his head and glanced at Wei Zhao, a flicker of bewilderment passing through his eyes. Then his whole manner turned somewhat vacant, the sharpness of before gone from his gaze, and he suddenly cried out, "Good, Li'er, you've come! Master and disciple—let us together finish off these two wretched dogs!"

Seeing the monstrous fellow's expression and reaction, Wei Zhao inwardly cried disaster! How could he have imagined that a single cry of "Master" would plunge the man back into foolishness, stripping away all his former acuity?

Had the monstrous fellow remained as formidable as before, then with Wei Zhao joining hands with him, slaying Old Six and Old Twelve ought to have posed no difficulty at all—but now...

Old Six and Old Twelve had been on the very verge of fleeing when the monstrous fellow's senseless words struck them dumb for a moment. Yet at the sight of his condition, they were immediately delighted—mad! Mad again!

"Wahahaha!" Old Twelve burst into laughter. "Sixth Brother, the old thing's gone mad—haha, that brat Wei Zhao called him 'Master' once, and he's turned simple!"

"Indeed! Wei Zhao, I really must thank you," Old Six said gleefully. "We were having rather a hard time handling this old creature, and then you arrive and do us such a great service! Rest easy—I'll thank you properly. Once I've dealt with this old madman, I'll send you along to keep him company!"

"Master... how are you?" Wei Zhao ran toward the old madman with every appearance of deep concern—and Old Six and Old Twelve did not stop him. In their eyes, Wei Zhao's failure to flee and his running instead to check on the old madman was nothing short of courting death!

Had Wei Zhao fled now, finishing off the Heaven-Rank old madman might well have cost them some time, and by then Wei Zhao would have been beyond finding—yet Wei Zhao had actually delivered himself up to die?

"Sixth Brother, seems the boy wants to die with him. Then we needn't hold back..." Old Twelve's words broke off abruptly, for he was stunned to discover a palm suddenly pressed against his own chest!

"Frenzied Fire Eight-Trigram Palm—Eighth Stance!" Wei Zhao's body, which had been racing toward the Heaven-Rank monstrous fellow, executed an inconceivable turn. Old Six and Old Twelve had not even glimpsed how Wei Zhao whirled about and came at them—his palm had already landed upon Old Twelve's chest!

With a "boom—" accompanied by a tremendous "bang—", Old Twelve's entire body was hurled backward through the air. Even as he flew, a jet of blood sprayed from his mouth in a crimson arc, and a great hollow could plainly be seen caved into his chest. He slammed heavily against a tree trunk not far off, then lay flat and rigid upon the ground, lifeless.

Wei Zhao did not trouble to unleash the Ninth Stance, for once triggered it would consume all his physical strength and true qi—and Old Twelve was merely an early Heaven-Rank expert. Though Old Twelve hailed from the Five Luminaries Sect and was somewhat stronger than an ordinary early Heaven-Rank expert, Wei Zhao's Eighth Stance had slain even a mid Heaven-Rank expert of the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow sect. Killing Old Twelve ought to be no problem at all!

And now it seemed Wei Zhao's judgment had been correct: Old Twelve was unquestionably dead, while Wei Zhao still retained at least half his physical strength and true qi.

The reason he had chosen Old Twelve to strike was precisely that Old Six was simply too powerful—at the peak of the late Heaven Rank. Without even testing it, Wei Zhao knew he could never kill the man, so better to pick the soft persimmon to squeeze, to seek out the one he could slay in a single blow.

Once Old Twelve was dead and only Old Six remained, with the Heaven-Rank monstrous fellow attacking and Wei Zhao assisting at his side, they ought to be able to manage.

"Impossible! How can you be? You're an early Heaven-Rank expert?" Old Six stared at Wei Zhao in shock and fury. Wei Zhao had actually become an early Heaven-Rank expert? How had he not known? Though small wonder—word of Wei Zhao's breakthrough had only just gone out, while he and Old Twelve had been hunting the Heaven-Rank monstrous fellow for nearly half a month, running all the way from the Five Luminaries Sect's territory to West Star Mountain!

Throughout that time the Heaven-Rank monstrous fellow had been sometimes well and sometimes ill, sometimes mad and sometimes clear-headed, so their pursuit had dragged on, neither side able to overcome the other—they chased a while, fought a while. Fortunately, by the time they had chased him here, they had already fathomed the monstrous fellow's combat patterns, so that when he fell into madness they could take him down in one stroke.

But who could have foreseen that Wei Zhao would come crashing in out of nowhere like a Cheng Yaojin? And that Wei Zhao would actually be an early Heaven-Rank expert! Of course, what baffled Old Six most was this: even granting Wei Zhao was early Heaven-Rank, Old Twelve had been at the peak of the early Heaven Rank, and disciples of the Five Luminaries Sect were generally a cut above cultivators of the same rank—yet before his eyes it seemed otherwise. Wei Zhao was actually stronger than Old Twelve?

And what utterly confounded him was: what manner of lightness skill had Wei Zhao just used? Even the footwork of a Heaven-Rank expert could not be that fast, could it? One instant he stood before the Heaven-Rank monstrous fellow, the next he had blinked directly before Old Twelve and sent him flying with a single palm strike?

Could this footwork be some new martial technique devised expressly for sneak attacks?

But the Heaven-Rank monstrous fellow gave Old Six no time to ask. Though mad, the twin battle-axes in his hands never ceased—whirling through the air with terrible vigor, they came smashing down at Old Six's head and face!

"Old creature, you court death!" Having gotten no answer, Old Six instead drew a ferocious assault from the Heaven-Rank monstrous fellow. Seething, he raised the ruler in his hand and hurled it at the monstrous fellow's skull!

This was his Heaven-Rank weapon; Old Twelve's Heaven-Rank weapon had been a pitch-black token-like object. Though Wei Zhao did not know what it was, he had already set his heart on it, planning to quietly pick it up later!

The Heaven-Rank monstrous fellow neither dodged nor flinched, swinging both battle-axes straight at Old Six. The axes far outstripped the ruler in length, so Old Six was startled and hurriedly twisted his body backward to evade, and the ruler was withdrawn with him!

He had no choice but to dodge—if he did not, the monstrous fellow's axe would come crashing down and split his skull wide open, would it not? One had to understand: though the Heaven-Rank monstrous fellow was now in a mad, foolish state, his strength was undiminished—he merely fought without method, flailing wildly.

Still, had the divine weapons in his hands been ordinary stuff, it would have been one thing—but these twin battle-axes were long and keen, and above all there were two of them, able to strike from left and right at once, which vexed Old Six to death!