Chapter 161 — The Hierarchy of Power
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Beyond that, wondrous as the *Xuanyuan Dragon-Residing Art* was, it was still only the first layer, and its boost to his strength was not great.
But there was one most obvious improvement, a discovery that delighted Wei Zhao: he could now sense the energy fluctuations on the refined man's body!
This had never happened before. Though he had crossed blades with Yellow-rank and even Mystic-rank experts on the battlefield, he could only judge an opponent's strength after actually trading blows. But once the first layer of the *Xuanyuan Dragon-Residing Art* had taken initial form, Wei Zhao could actually sense on the refined man the same kind of energy fluctuations as the ones he himself absorbed!
The man must also be a cultivator of internal skill—though what technique he practiced, Wei Zhao could not tell. The energy fluctuations in his body were weaker than his own, so he should be at the early Yellow rank.
So Wei Zhao had created a false impression of being just a little stronger than him, leading him to mistake Wei Zhao for someone at the peak of early Yellow rank, about to break through to the middle stage.
Of course, there were exceptions.
That Wu Chengtian from before—Wei Zhao could sense that he was a body temperer, focused mainly on the skill of his hands. But body temperers carried no energy fluctuations at all, so Wei Zhao could not judge his rank... or perhaps Wu Chengtian was simply too weak, so weak that the energy in his body was negligible...
"..." The refined man had not expected Wei Zhao to lay bare the fact that someone stood behind him all at once—it completely disrupted the refined man's plans!
The refined man's original plan had been to come here and get handsy with Gu Mengyao, to provoke her and her friend into anger - then Wei Zhao would surely step in, and that would let him sound out Wei Zhao's true strength. If Wei Zhao proved weaker than himself, he would take the opportunity to teach him a lesson, and after that the boss would come out to settle things...
But now, the strength Wei Zhao had displayed was not one whit inferior to the refined man's own. The two of them were likely neck and neck, and Wei Zhao might even be a shade stronger. Probing further would be meaningless. Still, when Wei Zhao proposed bringing the boss out, the refined man could not bring himself to decide.
As he hesitated, the phone at his waist began to ring. Damn it - at a moment like this, who was calling? The refined man felt like cursing someone out. His arm was still gripped in Wei Zhao's hand, and the two of them stood with swords drawn and bows bent, tension coiled to the snapping point.
If he went to answer the phone now and Wei Zhao pulled some dirty trick on him, he would be finished, utterly and completely. The refined man dared not be careless. Against an expert of Wei Zhao's caliber, he had no confidence whatsoever of certain victory; whoever let his attention wander or gave ground first would be the one to suffer badly.
"Go on, answer it. A call at this hour - I imagine it must be the man behind you," Wei Zhao said, smiling at the refined man as he released his arm, as though he had not the slightest fear that the man might turn on him.
The refined man had not expected Wei Zhao to let him go so easily. He gave Wei Zhao a long, searching look and fished the phone from his waist, though his eyes never once left Wei Zhao. Generous as Wei Zhao's gesture appeared, instinct told the refined man that this fellow was vicious and cunning to the core.
He glanced at the caller ID on the screen. Sure enough, it was Brother Cihua calling.