Chapter 3239 — A Successive Breakthrough

"Pff—" Wei Zhao spat out another mouthful of fresh blood. The pressure crushed in on the meridians of his body as though it meant to leave him paralyzed. Yet even as it did, the true qi within those meridians forced them to swell and expand without cease. That oppression and that surging, one pressing, one swelling, nearly made Wei Zhao's whole body burst apart, and so the mouthful of blood came bursting out.

But in that very instant, the meridians throughout his body suddenly began to shudder violently, and with a thunderous roar his entire frame seemed to give way, like a dam bursting before a flood—the true qi within him, as though it had smashed through some barrier, began flooding swiftly into every corner of his body…

A breakthrough! Wei Zhao drew a deep breath and did not dare grow careless; he hurriedly circulated the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art to steady the true qi within him, for he could feel that a still greater pressure was yet to come.

Newly ascended to the peak of the early Heaven Rank as he was, the Bloody Garment Ancestor, the Yellow Springs Ancestor, and the Sinister Ancestor unleashing their strikes in unison was no jest. Wei Zhao must not suffer the tragedy of breaking through only to be shaken to death by the residual force of the three men's grand moves—that would be as miserable as miserable could be!

Yet it was already too late for Wei Zhao to run. All of it happened in the space of a spark and a flash of lightning: the three ancestors made their move, releasing their grand strike together, and it landed upon the Black Horse Association's Grand Elder.

"Boom!"

Beneath that tremendous blow, the Black Horse Association's Grand Elder quietly closed his eyes, a thread of fresh blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. Clearly, though he was dead, he had after all been a master at the great perfection of the late Heaven Rank peak; his body had not been blasted to pieces.

It was Wei Zhao, rather, who met with misfortune. He had only just broken through, yet he was forced to urgently circulate his mental cultivation formula and forcibly withstand this still greater pressure.

In an instant, Wei Zhao's resistance was pushed to its utmost limit! He had no choice but to shield his body with the full might of his true qi, to keep himself from being harmed by the aftershock of that pressure.

Even so, the aftershock hurled Wei Zhao's whole body backward through the air. He flew straight out the window and plummeted from the upper floor to the one below, landing heavily upon the concrete slab with a dull, heavy crash.

Wei Zhao was dashed into a daze; the organs within his body had been knocked out of place, and the bones and meridians throughout him were more or less shattered. Had it been anyone else, they would likely have died on the spot.

The pressure of three masters at the late Heaven Rank peak was no trifling matter—and two of them, no less, at great perfection.

Yet even as Wei Zhao hovered at death's door, a strange and joyous smile flickered across the corner of his mouth.

Wei Zhao… had actually touched the barrier of the mid Heaven Rank! How could that be? Though even Wei Zhao himself did not believe he could, in a single instant, consolidate his newly ascended peak early Heaven Rank strength and touch the barrier of the mid Heaven Rank, that fleeting sensation had not been mistaken—it truly was the barrier of the mid Heaven Rank!

So it was that a cultivator's potential was boundless. Facing the immense pressure of three top-tier masters, Wei Zhao had succeeded in surpassing himself and breaking through his own limits. Not only had he consolidated his newly ascended strength in an instant, but in that same instant he had gathered his true qi and touched the barrier of the mid Heaven Rank.

Though advancing to the mid Heaven Rank would still require time or some turning point, the barrier had already been felt—so how far off could the ascension be?

Of course, only Wei Zhao would dare to use such a method of surpassing and breaking through himself. Any other cultivator would already be dead at this moment—and of what use would surpassing oneself be then? Only Wei Zhao himself could heal injuries of this kind; even the Great Restoration Pill would be of no use now.

Once his joy had passed, Wei Zhao swiftly circulated the third layer of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art and began rapidly repairing his damaged body, meridians, and bones. None of this posed any difficulty for Wei Zhao; there, on the concrete below the dormitory building, he sat down cross-legged in meditation.

Only, Wei Zhao being blasted out the window and down to the floor below gave the Bloody Garment Ancestor, the Yellow Springs Ancestor, and the Sinister Ancestor a tremendous fright.

Mother of heavens—just now they had been so intent on finishing off the Black Horse Association's Grand Elder in a single move that they had neglected Wei Zhao. If they had blasted Wei Zhao to death like that, then their own deaths would likely not be far behind! Could Lin Dongfang spare them? Could Yang Zhao spare them?

If either of those two came calling, all three of them would be in for a world of trouble.

"Quick, see how Master Wei Zhao is faring!" The Sinister Ancestor was the quickest to react. He could not even be bothered with the Black Horse Association's Grand Elder's corpse, and leapt straight down through the window, with the Bloody Garment Ancestor and the Yellow Springs Ancestor close on his heels.

They were just as anxious. They had come to curry favor, but now the favor had gone awry and they had curried Wei Zhao to death—what wretched luck.

Yet when the Sinister Ancestor saw Wei Zhao sitting in meditation below, breathing evenly, he heaved a great sigh of relief.

He could sense that Wei Zhao was circulating his mental cultivation formula, and that his strength was that of a freshly broken-through peak early Heaven Rank. By the look of it, Wei Zhao was going to be all right.

What the Sinister Ancestor could sense, the Bloody Garment Ancestor and the Yellow Springs Ancestor could naturally sense as well. So the three of them simply took up the role of Wei Zhao's guardians, settling down right beside him to wait for him to return from his meditative state to reality.

Though Wei Zhao was cultivating, he could also sense the arrival of the Sinister Ancestor and the other two—and that they had actually taken up guard for him. This surprised him greatly; he had thought they would leave once the killing was done. He had not expected them to be so loyal, so true to their word.

The healing speed of the third layer of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art was very swift. Though Wei Zhao's injuries were grave, he recovered quickly as well. Soon enough, Wei Zhao opened his eyes, rose to his feet, and clasped his hands toward the three ancestors seated beside him: "Many thanks to the three ancestors for standing guard."

"Ah, Master Wei Zhao, you're all right?" Seeing Wei Zhao standing before him hale and vigorous, the Sinister Ancestor heaved a sigh of relief, while in his heart he was filled with boundless admiration. Worthy indeed of Lin Dongfang's grandson and Master Yang Zhao's disciple—formidable beyond measure, to break through under such pressure and then heal himself besides!

Then again, when he thought about it, could the juniors those two held in such regard be anything less than extraordinary?

"Naturally I'm fine. And I must thank the three ancestors for giving me the chance to break through." Wei Zhao knew the three of them could surely tell that he had just broken through. Better to speak the truth than to hide it and let them grow suspicious. Of course, Wei Zhao did not know what the three of them were truly thinking. If Wei Zhao did not speak of it, would they dare ask?