Chapter 4198 — That's Wonderful!

But Wei Zhao had not only conjured it out of thin air; this single move, the Savage Fire Eight-Trigram Joint Strike Palm, bore not the slightest trace of hasty, slipshod patchwork. On the contrary, it was profound and deep-rooted, and in its finer subtleties it was in no way inferior to traditional martial techniques handed down over hundreds or even thousands of years.

Had she not seen it with her own eyes, Huang Xiaotao would never have believed that Wei Zhao could have conceived and created such a technique in the span of a few short moments.

He could boost a person's strength, he could refine golden cores, and now he could even create martial techniques. Beyond the admiration and reverence she already felt for Wei Zhao, Huang Xiaotao was now utterly dumbfounded—that such a formidable figure could exist in this world!

Even the legendary Zhang Lifeng, the Alchemy God and Saint Physician, would surely be no more than this. He might even fall short of Wei Zhao—after all, Grandmaster Zhang's legend came only from hearsay passed from mouth to mouth, whereas Wei Zhao's marvels she had witnessed with her own eyes and lived through in her own person.

In the time that followed, Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao remained within the cave dwelling, sealed in cultivation of this newly created move, the Savage Fire Eight-Trigram Joint Strike Palm.

Though newly created, it was naturally very easy for Wei Zhao to master, while Huang Xiaotao's proficiency grew ever more precise and her coordination with Wei Zhao ever more practiced. By the time Wei Zhao judged it more or less fully formed, the two of them tried unleashing a single move together—and its might proved comparable to the full-force strike of a peak late Golden Core expert!

Had Wei Zhao not deliberately held it all in check, the power of that one move would have been enough to pierce straight through his cultivation cave dwelling, barriers and walls alike!

Huang Xiaotao herself was stunned senseless, while Wei Zhao nodded with deep satisfaction. Of course he had confidence in the technique he had created, but at the outset he had set its target power at merely the late Golden Core stage—never imagining that he had still underestimated the might of this joint strike.

A single move of the Savage Fire Eight-Trigram Joint Strike Palm was equivalent to the all-out strike of a peak late Golden Core expert. Yet the two of them were currently only at the early Golden Core stage. A technique like this was simply heaven-defying.

If their strength rose a little further, they would truly be invincible within the Golden Core stage. If he took Huang Xiaotao out in the future and someone rubbed him the wrong way, he could just slam a joint strike straight at them—any Golden Core expert, even if they did not die, would be left crippled!

At the Skyward Pavilion, after returning from Wei Zhao's cave dwelling, Xu Lingchong and Meng Zhou were utterly unwilling to accept it. Nor did they intend to let Wei Zhao off so easily.

It was inconvenient for the two of them to remain there themselves, so they specifically instructed Murong Zhen to keep constant watch over the goings-on at Wei Zhao's cave dwelling, and the moment she saw Wei Zhao or Shangguan Lan'er come out, to report to the two of them at once.

Yet what the two of them never could have anticipated was that there was no need at all to wait for word from Murong Zhen—they had barely set foot back on the Skyward Pavilion's territory when they came face to face with Shangguan Lan'er.

The two of them froze on the spot and scratched their heads in unison: what the hell was going on here? How was the woman in Wei Zhao's bed not Shangguan Lan'er?

The Threefold Pavilion's female cultivators numbered only a scant few—one could count them on one's fingers. Apart from Shangguan Lan'er, who on earth else would have gotten tangled up with Wei Zhao?

Catching sight of the two of them, Shangguan Lan'er turned her head away in disgust, pretended not to see them, and made straight to walk past along the side.

At that moment, Xu Lingchong suddenly grinned and stepped forward to meet her head-on.

"Little junior sister Lan'er, it's been so long. How have you been lately?" Xu Lingchong greeted her with a smile.

"Well or unwell, what does it matter? Does Senior Brother Xu have business with me?" Shangguan Lan'er's eyelid twitched at once. This creature had not bothered her for quite some time—why was he sticking to her like chewed taffy again today? How revolting!

As Shangguan Lan'er spoke, the Little Curly Bear at her side dragged out that pair of great shears from before and, strutting with menace toward Xu Lingchong, went snip-snip-snip in a frenzy. Anyone with a slightly faint heart would likely have had their scalp go numb with fright at this little creature.

Xu Lingchong especially—last time it was this very pair of giant shears that had severed his family jewels. To see the scene replayed now was to rub salt into his wound; and not content with that, it was as if someone had sprinkled cumin on top for good measure!

Even Shangguan Lan'er herself was startled at the sight. She had never expected the little creature to dare provoke him so openly, and she hurried forward a step to shield it behind her—if Xu Lingchong flew into a rage and tried to kill the Little Curly Bear, with her strength she could not possibly stop him.

But greatly to Shangguan Lan'er's surprise, Xu Lingchong was not enraged in the least. Instead he smiled as though he did not mind at all, as if he had taken no offense whatsoever.

"If you ask about business, well, there is indeed a matter—one I feel it necessary for you to know about, little junior sister Lan'er. You had best prepare yourself first," Xu Lingchong said with feigned mystery.

"Oh? What matter?" Shangguan Lan'er frowned and glanced at him, thinking to herself: what trick is this loathsome creature trying to play now?

"I just came back from Wei Zhao's cave dwelling, and I found a woman on his bed—clothes already off, alas..." Xu Lingchong shook his head with feigned regret. "But don't be anxious, little junior sister Lan'er. Some men, once they have a bit of strength, always like to fool around and carry on. It's only human nature. Wei Zhao is a man too, and he has needs in that regard as well..."

The reason Xu Lingchong had deliberately told Shangguan Lan'er this was simple: his goal was nothing more than to create trouble for Wei Zhao. Since the woman in his cave dwelling was not Shangguan Lan'er, then he would use this to sow discord and let Shangguan Lan'er go make a scene herself!

By then, Wei Zhao would inevitably be too busy fending for himself to attend to anything else, and even if he took part in the inner-sect tournament, his condition would surely be greatly diminished.

To speak plainly, although Xu Lingchong was now a formidable mid Golden Core cultivator, riding high and returning in force, he had at least learned his lesson and gained some sense—he did not dare underestimate Wei Zhao.

Now that he cultivated in dual partnership with Meng Zhou, in a two-against-two they would certainly be invincible; of that there was no doubt. But in single combat, if he were to face Wei Zhao one-on-one, though he still had confidence in certain victory, he would still have to be careful and prudent.

After all, Wei Zhao had, by any account, slain Su Zhaohe of the early Golden Core stage in a single move—and that Su Zhaohe was no simple character. At the same level, Xu Lingchong freely admitted that he could not necessarily win with certainty. From this it was clear that Wei Zhao too was no ordinary figure and had to be guarded against!

So with this chance to disgust Wei Zhao, Xu Lingchong would naturally make use of it. If he could make Shangguan Lan'er fall out with him outright, or even turn them into bitter enemies, so much the better; and even if that failed, he could at least distract Wei Zhao. Why not do it?