Chapter 3320 — Holding Fast

After hanging up the phone, Ancestor Xuanchen turned to Kang Jingming and said, "You heard it too. We may both have misjudged the situation. The Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect was merely a smokescreen Wei Zhao put out. Perhaps, even before he went overseas, Wei Zhao had already shown signs of breaking through. That was why he was unwilling to trigger his martial techniques and waste stamina and true qi, and instead hired the Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect as his thugs. But in truth, Wei Zhao still possessed the ability to slay high-tier cultivators in a single blow."

Kang Jingming nodded, a flash of unwilling ferocity crossing his face. "Father-in-law, I say this Wei Zhao can no longer be left alive. He can now slay a peak late-stage Heaven-Tier expert in a single blow. Give him time, and might he not be able to slay even you in a single blow? When that day comes, who in the entire cultivation world will be a match for Wei Zhao? Will he not kill whomever he pleases, with no one able to stop him?"

"Indeed!" Ancestor Xuanchen nodded as well, his expression grave. "It is time Wei Zhao was eliminated. Otherwise, he will inevitably become a mortal threat in the days to come!"

"Father-in-law, that Limit Gathering Pill—shall I go ahead and make preparations for it? With Wei Zhao's current strength, he might still be interested in such a thing. But once his strength rises a bit further, he will have no need for the pill at all, and then even if we wanted to do him in, we would find no suitable means!" Kang Jingming suggested.

"Good. Then set about preparing it, and refine it! It seems this is the only way left to us. Even at the cost of offending White Collar, Wei Zhao must be eliminated. Otherwise, he truly will become a mortal threat!" Ancestor Xuanchen mused for a moment, then nodded and spoke with resolve.

"As you command. I will go at once and prepare the refining materials!" Kang Jingming was overjoyed. Ancestor Xuanchen had finally agreed to use this ultimate move to do away with Wei Zhao. This time, once Wei Zhao swallowed the Limit Gathering Pill, they would see whether he lived or died!

"By the way, regarding the matter with Little Three and the others, you must keep it strictly secret. Do not breathe a word of it!" Ancestor Xuanchen warned. "If White Collar learns that we have begun moving against Wei Zhao, it will be difficult to get the pill into Wei Zhao's mouth!"

"I understand!" Kang Jingming nodded in assent... At that moment, Wei Zhao had already recovered his stamina and true qi. He had Gu Mengyao summon the Grand Elder to the guest room where he was resting.

"Young Hero Lin. You called for me?" The Grand Elder appeared before Wei Zhao with the utmost deference, as respectful as could be.

"Grand Elder, there is no time to waste. Since Yaoyao has spoken, I will heal your injuries," Wei Zhao said mildly.

"Haha, then this old body thanks you, Young Hero Lin! But Young Hero Lin, you are Yaoyao's husband, and thus one of our Dark Night Palace as well, so this old body will dispense with the pleasantries. I am but a soldier under Yaoyao's command, after all—restoring my strength benefits the Dark Night Palace too!" In the blink of an eye, the Grand Elder had turned herself into Gu Mengyao's subordinate, leaving Wei Zhao somewhat speechless.

"Grand Elder. Enough of that. What sort of person you were before, and what sort of relationship I have with the Dark Night Palace—everyone knows it well enough. If not for Yaoyao, I would not lift a finger," Wei Zhao said with a wave of his hand, utterly unmoved by the Grand Elder's flattery.

"Haha, very well..." The Grand Elder laughed awkwardly. "Young Hero Lin, then what do you need me to do to cooperate?"

"Nothing at all. Just wait." With that, Wei Zhao reached out and pressed his fingers to the pulse gate at the Grand Elder's wrist, circulating the third level of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art to begin healing her injuries!

Wei Zhao had grown ever more proficient with the third level of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art, greatly shortening the time his healing required. To Wei Zhao, the Grand Elder's injuries were nothing at all—an injury of this degree was a matter of an hour or so at most.

Yet as Wei Zhao circulated the incantation of the heart method, he discovered to his delight that the third level of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art seemed to be approaching Great Perfection. Could it be that the third level was on the verge of a breakthrough?

If so, Wei Zhao could once again journey to West Star Mountain Village and open the fourth stone gate. What would be inside? Wei Zhao was filled with anticipation!

Previously, the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art had shown no sign of breaking through at all, and just when Wei Zhao was about to give up hope, it was suddenly on the verge of a breakthrough. Could it be connected to the breakthrough in his own cultivation tier?

Wei Zhao could only attribute it to that. After all, the rise in his cultivation tier meant that his body could hold more true qi. Was that the reason the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art was about to break through?

This discovery delighted Wei Zhao at once. He had not expected that healing the Grand Elder's injuries would prove so worthwhile. Sometimes, doing a good deed brought rewards one never anticipated!

Wei Zhao had not expected that the oppression of his recent days as a fugitive would be repaid with such a run of good fortune. Not only had his strength risen, but the incantation of his Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art was also on the verge of reaching Great Perfection at the third level.

After swiftly healing the Grand Elder's injuries, Wei Zhao intended to make his breakthrough in the heart method right here! To be honest, Wei Zhao had not cultivated much in the jade pendant's space of late—there had been too many matters to attend to, and his cultivation tier had been raised through pills. He had rather neglected the most fundamental way of advancing. Since the heart method's incantation showed signs of breaking through, this time Wei Zhao would certainly not let the opportunity slip...

News at the upper echelon spread especially fast. Even if Ancestor Xuanchen and Kang Jingming kept silent, that scene within the Dark Night Palace had been witnessed by many Dark Night Palace disciples. There was no way to demand that all of them keep it secret—and in truth, Wei Zhao did not need them to. It was precisely through their mouths that Wei Zhao meant to spread word of his strength.

So within a few days, everyone at the upper echelon knew: Wei Zhao had returned, and within the Dark Night Palace he had unleashed his might, slaying one peak late-stage Heaven-Tier expert and wounding two others of the same caliber.

Still, all of this rested on the word of the Dark Night Palace disciples alone, and whether it had been verified was unknown. After all, no one else had ever heard of this so-called upper-echelon bandit gang. This newly emerged gang had vanished without a trace the moment it appeared at the Dark Night Palace. Whether such a gang even existed, no one could say for certain—so perhaps this whole affair was simply fabricated by the Dark Night Palace to build momentum for Wei Zhao? (Happy New Year to everyone!) RS