Chapter 3433 — Breakthrough, Peak of the Mid Heaven Rank!

Every one of Wei Zhao's recent battles had ended with his stamina and true qi completely drained—but never once had he craved their immediate restoration as desperately as he did now.

The sensation was familiar to him: it was exactly what he felt before breaking through a rank barrier, when he needed vast amounts of heaven-and-earth spiritual energy.

He had experienced it before—the time he attended the Hidden World Clans Summit, the circumstances had been identical. As he replenished his stamina and true qi, the long-awaited breakthrough had come right on its heels.

So Wei Zhao knew this craving for heaven-and-earth spiritual energy was inevitable. He swiftly kept circulating the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art, letting the energy within the jade pendant space pour rapidly into his meridians.

Gradually his stamina and true qi were replenished, growing abundant—yet the influx of energy did not stop. Instead, as he ran the heart-method incantation, it grew ever more frenzied...

"This... what is happening to Mr. Lingyi?" The four top-tier enemies had been wiped out, so the Song family ought to have been overjoyed—but now Wei Zhao's face had suddenly flushed a deep red, his whole body looking as if it were about to combust, and the Song family could not help but worry.

Qiu Lingshan, however, understood Wei Zhao. Seeing his condition, she had a fair guess: "Grandfather, Second Grandfather, Lingyi looks like he's about to break through and advance. Let us not disturb him—let us stand guard for him!"

"Mm, you have a point. Some inner-family cultivators do show signs like this when they are about to break through!" Song Xianghua nodded at Song Lingwei's reminder. "In that case, let us all stand guard for Mr. Lingyi together!"

Song Lingwei was an outer-family cultivator, and now she watched Wei Zhao with some curiosity. This man really was formidable—especially that ultimate move of man-and-beast as one! It seemed her sister's judgment was quite sound after all!

By now Song Lingwei was utterly convinced, and would never again dare say she wanted to test Lingyi. Qiu Lingshan had said she feared Lingyi might hurt her—and that was indeed the case! Never mind anything else: one lightning bolt, then two palms to follow, and Song Lingwei would surely have been dead, not merely injured!

And that had been before Lingyi's breakthrough. If after breaking through he became an expert at the peak of the mid Heaven Rank, would he not be even more fearsome? The thought sent a chill of dread through Song Lingwei.

Thank goodness she had not provoked him—though her attitude toward him earlier had not been especially good either. She wondered whether this brother-in-law held grudges.

Beyond all that, there was also that strange creature called Little One, standing beside Wei Zhao like a pillar at this moment, its origin unknown, possessing the strength of peak late Heaven Rank great perfection! Clearly Wei Zhao had brought it along as well.

Wei Zhao had no time to explain to them. Since Qiu Lingshan had already explained, there was no problem—he could set his mind at ease and focus on his breakthrough.

At this moment, streams of warm current flowed from the jade pendant space into Wei Zhao's body, originating from the dantian in his abdomen and surging through his whole frame, followed at once by a searing heat as if every meridian in his body were on fire!

Yet Wei Zhao was not worried. This was not the first time he had felt this; he had grown used to it as a matter of course.

Thereafter the burning in his meridians grew ever more intense, and Wei Zhao felt that, starting from his meridians, his entire being was about to catch fire!

Even so, Wei Zhao gritted his teeth and held on calmly. He knew this feeling all too well—the feeling before a breakthrough. The more painful it was, the closer he was to the final step!

Beads of sweat the size of beans rolled ceaselessly down Wei Zhao's forehead, and the pain grew ever more intense—yet in his heart he was utterly thrilled!

As Wei Zhao's anguish deepened, the heaven-and-earth spiritual energy in the air gathered around him, swirling above his head to form an exceedingly faint vortex! It resonated with the true qi inside his body, whirling faster and faster around him, and his body temperature rose with it! In that instant, vast amounts of pure energy poured from the jade pendant space into Wei Zhao's body!

At last a thunderous boom rang in Wei Zhao's ears, and his whole body shuddered with it. His meridians seemed to burst open in an instant—and at that moment, Wei Zhao knew he had broken through!

An expert at the peak of the mid Heaven Rank!

Now Wei Zhao possessed the strength of the peak of the mid Heaven Rank. He wondered—could the Frenzied Fire Eight Trigrams Palm now unleash its twelfth form? Could it instantly kill an expert of peak late Heaven Rank great perfection? Wei Zhao was filled with anticipation.

Wei Zhao opened his eyes and smiled, nodding to the people around him.

Song Lingwei, Song Xiangwen, Song Xianghua, and Qiu Lingshan all sensed the change in Wei Zhao's strength—from the mid Heaven Rank, straight up to the peak of the mid Heaven Rank!

"Congratulations, Mr. Lingyi! From now on, it will be no difficult matter for you to instantly kill experts of peak late Heaven Rank great perfection!" Song Xianghua said with heartfelt admiration. This Lingyi was truly formidable—without him, the Song family would likely have been wiped out entirely by now! And Wei Zhao's arrival had brought about the annihilation of the enemy instead.

"Heh, it's too soon to say." Wei Zhao shook his head. He had not tested it—who could say whether he could smoothly unleash the twelfth form of the Frenzied Fire Eight Trigrams Palm? Of course, if he could unleash it smoothly and with an attack bonus, then instantly killing experts of peak late Heaven Rank great perfection was still within hope.

"Lingyi, thank you so much—for helping our Song family so much!" Qiu Lingshan said with gratitude and emotion. Wei Zhao had, once again, not let her down.

"Luck, nothing more." Wei Zhao smiled. "Besides, how could I possibly leave your affairs alone? Now—may I have a proper introduction to your sister and your Second Grandfather?"

"Mm hm!" Qiu Lingshan nodded hurriedly. Earlier the Song family's mood had been foul, and when Wei Zhao arrived she had only briefly explained their identities and strengths, saying nothing more. Now that the Song family was in high spirits, they all played along.

"Hello, brother-in-law. Very pleased to meet you. My name is Song Lingwei—you can call me Little Rui too!" Song Lingwei politely and graciously extended her hand to Wei Zhao. "As the saying goes, a sister-in-law is half a brother-in-law's backside—so you must protect me the way you would protect your own backside!"

"Haha!" Wei Zhao could not help laughing. "Easily done. In future, if anyone bullies you, just tell me and I'll instantly kill them for you!" (One update per day on weekends; regular schedule resumes Monday.)